SUNRISE BEACH, Mo. – Led by an MVC-best score of 212 (-4) from David Rauer, the Illinois State men's golf team took second at the 2019 MVC Men's Golf Championships, hosted at The Club at Porto Cima. Last season's MVC Newcomer of the Year now adds tournament medalist to his accolades, and has earned a spot as an individual competitor at one of this season's six NCAA Regionals.
Rauer tied the top spot in the field, with teammates Trent Wallace (217, +1) and Dan Anfield (220, +4) finishing inside of the top-10. In all, all five Redbird golfers in the tournament finished inside of the top-17 overall.
"I'm so happy for David with the way he is finishing his career as a Redbird," said ISU head coach Ray Kralis. "He has continued to put in the time and effort, and he deserves this title."
The medalist honor is Illinois State's third over the last four seasons, as Wallace won the 2016 and 2017 MVC individual titles.
The Redbirds closed the three rounds by carding a four-over 869, just behind Southern Illinois' tournament-winning score of 859 (-5), as the top two teams finished 15 strokes ahead of the next finishing team. Missouri State (884), Bradley (894), Valparaiso (902), UNI (918), Drake (921), Loyola Chicago (922), and Evansville (936) rounded out the remaining teams in the field.
"After getting off to a great start in the opening round of the tournament, we made some uncharacteristic mistakes that lead to big numbers, and seemingly every time we got some positive momentum going, we did it to ourselves again," said Kralis. "Give Southern Illinois credit. They played a tremendous round today keeping their cards clean while making some birdies. That's what you need to do to win championships."
Rauer, who came into the final day with a one-stroke lead on the field got off to a rough start with bogeys on his first two holes, pushing him out of the lead to one stroke under par. He rebounded quickly with birdies on the fourth and seventh holes. Following a bogey on the ninth hole, he went into the back nine with a birdie on the 10th and an eagle on the par-five 13th hole to put him back into the individual lead. A bogey on the final hole of the tournament thrust him into a two-way tie for the medalist honor, won by Rauer when he recorded a par on the first playoff hole to Frank's bogey.
Wallace closes his MVC career by placing seventh at this seasons' Championship, finishing a stroke over par for the 54 holes with a 217, taking seventh in the field. The senior opened the round steady with pars over his first four holes until a double-bogey snapped the run, as he closed the front nine with a birdie, par, bogey, and par to make the turn at two strokes over par. He quickly rebounded in the back nine with three birdies in his first five holes to drop his round score to one stroke under par; however, a bogey on the 15th hole and three straight pars gave him an even-par 72 for the round.
Anfield, a sophomore, closed his tournament strong with a two-over 74 on the round which included two birdies over the first four holes; however, a triple bogey, bogey and three pars sent him into the turn at two strokes over par. He started the back nine with back-to-back birdies and followed with back-to-back bogeys and then back-to-back pars. A birdie on the par-three 16th hole dropped him to one stroke over par, where he finished on the day.
David Perkins and Joel Durnford carded matching 75's on the final round, and an even 10-over 226 for the three rounds, tying for 15th overall. Perkins' final round consisted of two birdies and 12 pars, while Durnford had three birdies and 11 pars.
The Redbirds will await their chances for an at-large bid to one of six NCAA Division I regionals, as the selection show for the NCAA Championships will air on Wednesday, May 1 at 9 p.m. on Golf Channel's Golf Central and streamed live on the Golf Channel website. In all, eighty-one teams and 45 individuals will be selected to compete at one of the six sites.
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