WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – With finishing rounds at one over and one under par for the team score, the Illinois State men's golf team climbed from ninth to a tie of sixth place over the final round and a half of the Purdue Fall Invitational.
After having the second round halted nearly halfway through a day earlier because of inclement weather, the Redbirds came back to close the second round with a team score of one stroke over par, before coming back for the final round with a team score of one stroke under par to finish the tournament with a three-round score of 880.
Indiana won the event with a three-round score of 858, a stroke ahead of tournament host Purdue. Toledo and Kent State carded matching 865's, while Cincinnati was the final team ahead of the Redbirds with an 867. Miami (Ohio) ended tied with ISU with the 880, while Marquette (882), Eastern Michigan (883), Minnesota (890), Northern Illinois (893), and Ball State (909) finished behind the 'Birds.
Behind a five-under-par final round from Joe Hodgson, and three consecutive at- or under-par rounds from Valentin Peugnet, the pair each ended the three rounds at a stroke under par, and tied for 11th in the field. Freshman Alex McCulla was the team's third-highest finisher at 10 strokes over par, finishing in a tie for 45th. Parker Wisdom (+11) tied for 51st in the tournament, and Andrew O'Brien (+15) who placed in a tie of 64th, rounded out the Redbirds in the field.
Peugnet ended the second round with a one-under-par 71, a round that included five birdies and 11 pars in his lowest round of the tournament. He came back in the second round, and after going one stroke under par through the first three holes, he hit a rough stretch of three consecutive bogeys to push his aggregate score to two strokes over par. He followed with a par, a birdie, and a bogey, sending him back to two-over-par halfway through his final round. Over his last nine holes, however, he was stellar with two birdies and seven pars and close the round at even par.
Hodgson closed his weather-stalled round and went even par over his final seven holes with a pair of birdies and four pars. He carried that momentum into the final round, which he opened with a birdie, and was never over par over the final 18 holes. After seven consecutive pars, he closed the round strong, and had five birdies over his final 10 holes of the tournament, closing the round with a career-low-tying round of 67.
McCulla closed his second round with a one-over 73, a round that saw the first-year collegian card three birdies and a dozen pars. He came back in the final round with a second consecutive 73, while carding 13 pars and a pair of birdies.
Wisdom saved his best round for the weather-paused second round, and was at even par for one hole, as he opened the round with three birdies, a par, and a bogey over his first five holes. He was steady over his final 13 holes, with one birdie, 11 pars, and a bogey to close the middle 18 holes with a two-under 70. He sandwiched his final round with a birdie on his first and last holes, and in between he had 10 pars and six over-par holes to end with the final-round 78.
O'Brien had a great start to his second round and was three under par through the first six holes; however, between the last handful of holes before the weather break, and the remainder of the second round he stumbled with seven pars and five over-par holes, closing the second round with a three-over 75. He closed play with a final-round 73 and did it with a pair of birdies – both in the last seven holes of the day – to go along with 13 pars in the round.
ISU does not get any rest, as the team closes its fall portion of the schedule on Monday and Tuesday, October 18 and 19 at the Little Rock Intercollegiate, hosted at Chenal Country Club in Little Rock, Arkansas.
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