MADISON, Wis. – The Illinois State men's golf team closed the books on its opening tournament of the 2019-20 season on Tuesday afternoon when the team took fourth place of 16 teams at the 2019 Badger Invitational.
Over the three rounds ISU ended at three strokes under par with an 861 (289-282-290). Notre Dame ran away with the event behind a -14 final round, scoring a three-round total of 842 while Kansas (856) and Ole Miss (858) finished just ahead of the Redbirds. Nevada (862), Coastal Carolina (864), Rutgers (866), Miami (Ohio) (867), Iowa State (867), and Wisconsin (870) were among the dozen schools to finish behind Illinois State.
David Perkins was the top individual finisher for Illinois State, as he finished under par in all three rounds, including a final-round 71 to see him tie for sixth place in the field with a 209. Nevada's Sam Harned took home individual medalist honors with a final three-day score of 204 (-12). Over the course of the tournament, Perkins had just five holes where he was sitting above par during the entire 54 holes of the tournament.
In the team's final round today, he started strong with birdies on the second and fourth holes; however, a pair of bogeys, one on the seventh and another on the ninth dropped him to even par at the turn. The back nine opened with five consecutive pars before a bogey pushed him to one stroke over par – the first time on the day he was above par; however, he closed strong with birdies on the 16th and 17th holes to close the day with a one-under 71.
Joe Hodgson, who struggled on the second day of the tournament, looked as though his struggles would continue with a double-bogey on the second hole; however, he rebounded strong with two birdies and a bogey over the final seven holes of the front nine pushed him to one stroke over par at the turn. After a trio of pars to start the back nine, Hodgson birdied the par-four 13th hole and the par-five 16th hole to drop his score to under par. A par and a bogey over the final two holes saw the transfer's final score settle at even par with a 72 for the 18 holes. Strengthened by his final-round 72, Hodgson tied for 67th overall in the tournament with a 226 (+10).
Senior Joel Durnford was steady throughout the round, as he had 13 pars on the day, including seven on the front nine, while adding a bogey and birdie on the front side of the course. A bogey on the 10th hole bumped him to one shot over par; however, a birdie on the 16th dropped him back to even before a bogey on the final hole gave him his ending score of 73. For the three rounds, Durnford ended one stroke over par with a 217, good for a tie of 24th place among the 96 overall golfers.
Dan Anfield had a tumultuous round, which included a rough first 10 holes with six bogeys, a birdie and three pars. For as rough as his first 10 holes were, his final eight were spectacular, as he recorded two birdies, four pars, a bogey, and topped it with an eagle on the par-five 16th hole to turn his 10-hole score of +5 into a final score of +2 when he turned in his card at the end of his round. Behind his strong finish, Anfield's 220 (+4) was good for a tie of 36th place in the tournament.
Freshman Parker Wisdom ended his opening collegiate round with 14 pars on the round; however, ended at +5 on the day with a 77 after three bogeys and a double-bogey during action. He closed strong, as he recorded a par on each of his last eight holes of the tournament. The Bloomington, Illinois, native, ended the tournament with a six-over 222, placing in a tie of 54th of the golfers in the tournament.
Playing as an individual, freshman Felix van Dijk had the team's top score on the final round, as he had a trio of birdies, just one bogey, to go with 15 pars to close his opening collegiate tournament with a two-under 70 on the day. Behind his under-par score on Tuesday, van Dijk placed in a tie for 36th overall with a four-over 220 for the three rounds.
The Redbirds jump right back into competition, starting on Sunday, September 15, when the team travels to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to compete in the Golfweek Conference Challenge, hosted at the Cedar Rapids Country Club.
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