PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – Using an seven-under 65 from Illinois State senior David Perkins, the Redbirds closed the White Sands Intercollegiate strong, finishing in a tie of seventh place overall, along with SMU, who is ranked second nationally in the most recent Golfstat.com poll.
The Redbirds lowered their score in each of the three rounds, closing the final round on Sunday with an eight-under 280 on the day, finishing the three rounds with a 12-under 852.
The field included five teams ranked inside of GolfStat's top-50, including tournament champion Houston (39th) who finished at 31 strokes under par. Rounding out the teams in front of Illinois State include Florida State (-24), 22nd ranked Arkansas (-22), top ranked Wake Forest (-21), 46th ranked UAB (-20), and Miami Ohio (-14).
After recording just his second round this fall above par, Perkins fought back to shoot a seven-under 65, giving him 13 rounds this fall under par, and just two above par.
Perkins, starting on the seventh hole in the shotgun start, opened his round with five pars over his first six holes – the other was a birdie – before an eagle on the par-five 13th hole pushed him to three strokes under par. He closed his day strong with five birdies in his final seven holes to give himself the seven-under score. His 10-under tournament total has him tied for fourth in the deep field.
Joel Durnford shot a two-under 70 in the final round, including starting the day with four birdies and four pars over his first eight holes of the day. He also recorded a birdie with three holes to play on the round to put him at two-under par for the day, and three-under par for the tournament, tied for 25th place.
Freshman Felix van Dijk went even par over the final 18 holes with two birdies, two bogeys, and 14 pars. Over the three rounds he went four-over and was tied for 61st.
The final member of the Redbird scoring contingent was junior Joe Hodgson who ended at one stroke over par, including three birdies and an eagle on the day. The junior 13 strokes over par for the three rounds, tied for 81st.
Dan Anfield ended the tournament at even par overall after a three-over final round in which he had four birdies. His even par overall score tied him for 40th in the field.
The Redbirds next return to action on Saturday, Feb. 1 when the team competes against the Illinois Illini golf team in the annual Tinervin Cup in Placida, Florida.
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