TAMPA, Fla. – Trent Wallace sits above 83 other golfers after the first day of the tournament in first place as Illinois State finished the day tied for third with Mercer.
The tournament started with a 35-minute delay due to fog, and the second round was cut short due to darkness. The Redbirds finished the day two-over par and tied for third place with Mercer. Southern Illinois is at even in second place and host South Florida is in first four-under par.
Wallace came out of the gates swinging, finishing the first round of play four-under par with six birdies in the round. At the end of play, he was seven strokes under par in first place with a three-stroke lead on the field.
Senior David Rauer and junior Joel Durnford both played well in today's rounds. Rauer shot two under par in the front nine in the first round. Durnford shot two strokes over par in the first round and was shooting even in the second round before the day. They are both tied for 17th place individually.
Sophmores Daniel Anfield and Andrew O'Brien finished the day tied for 36th individually and five strokes over par. Anfield shot four birdies before the second round was called. O'Brien shot four birdies on the day.
Freshman Ben Tyrrell played in his first tournament of his Redbird career as an individual. In the first round, Tyrrell shot four-over par with four birdies.
"Trent did a lot of the heavy lifting for us today with really solid play over the opening 33 holes," coach Ray Kralis said. "Overall, we took a step forward and were very close to putting it all together. The course is very demanding off the tee and doesn't let up, but the greens are in great condition giving the opportunities if you navigate the hole well. We're right where we want to be going into tomorrow. We need to finish well in the final holes of round 2 and get to work in the final round."
The Redbirds will finish the second round tomorrow at 7 a.m. CT and play through the final round afterwards.
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