Normal, Ill. – Illinois State hosted Northern Illinois for a 36-hole Dual at D.A. to make up the cancelled final round at Mobile Bay Intercollegiate. Since only 17 golfers participated, no team scores were kept.
With Illinois State's seven golfers to Northern Illinois's 10, the Redbirds still came away on top with four of the top five golfers being from Illinois State. "We wanted a spirited competition that would benefit both teams in the final stretch, and I believe we got that," coach Ray Kralis said after the dual.
Joel Durnford finished the two-round dual on top with a two stroke under par 140 (72-68). "Joel was impressive in the win posting the low round of the day in the afternoon to finish as the only player under par," Kralis said.
David Rauer managed to get an even par on the day (142) after shooting 72 in the first round and 70 in the second on Illinois State's par 71 course. Kralis commented, "David played very well all day and posted a one under 70 in round two to finish second at even."
Tied for third for the dual was David Perkins, Andrew O'Brien and Northern Illinois's Matt Cholod, who finished two strokes over par. Perkins finished the first round three strokes over par but managed to bring it down after shooting one under in the second round. O'Brien shot a two under par (69) second round. Northern Illinois's Cholod ended the first round on top of the leaderboard before shooting two strokes over par in the last 18.
"While this was an individual event without a team component, our afternoon play was very strong with five guys at par or better," Kralis concluded. "I was pleased to see a number of Redbirds high on the leaderboard."
Dan Anfield finished in sixth with a three over par 145 (74-71) followed by Trent Wallace's 151 (74-77) and Ben Tyrrell's 156 (78-78).
The squad returns to tournament play April 8-9 at the Tiger Invitational in Columbia, Mo.
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