GULF SHORES, Ala. – Andrew O'Brien carded an even-par 72, as the Illinois State Redbirds carded a team-score of 303, finishing in eighth place at the Craft Farms Intercollegiate.
Illinois State's final round gave the squad a three-round score of 889, just behind Eastern Michigan (886), Ball State (882), and Texas State (882) in the team standings. Cincinnati took the top spot at the tournament with an 865, and was followed by South Alabama (871), Louisiana (875), and Lipscomb (881) also finished just ahead of ISU. Southern Illinois (890), Lamar (894), Western Kentucky (901), Seton Hall (911), and Eastern Kentucky (915) finished in the final five spots in the field.
David Perkins was the team's top finisher at the tournament with an even-par 216 for the three rounds and tied for seventh overall. Felix van Dijk's six-over 222 saw him tie for 20th, with O'Brien finishing two strokes behind with a 224, tied for 36th. Joe Hodgson (230) and Will Troy (232) finished two shots and seven places apart, as Hodgson placed in a tie for 54th, and Troy tied for 61st, while Dan Anfield finished in a tie for 65th with a three-day 234.
O'Brien's round, which started on the par-four sixth hole, had four birdies, including two on the opening two holes of the round. He also had 10 pars and four bogeys, closing with the even-par 72.
Anfield had the team's second-best final-round score with a four-over 76, which included two birdies and 11 pars.
For sophomore van Dijk, he started his day with pars on nine of his first 10 holes and ended his final round with 14 total pars and finished five shots over par with a 77.
Hodgson had a birdie in his final round, while adding 11 pars and six bogeys for the team's fourth and final scorer for the day.
Perkins opened his day with a bogey, and then a birdie seven holes in pushed his score back to even par. Three bogeys over the next four holes put him at three strokes over par as a birdie on his 14th hole took him to two shots over par. A stumble on his 17th hole pushed him to seven shots over par.
Troy, playing as the team's individual, had eight pars and a birdie on the final round of his opening collegiate tournament, finishing eight strokes over par in the event.
Next Monday, April 5 and 6, the Redbirds return to the course to compete at the Tiger Invitational hosted by the University of Missouri.
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