FLOSSMOOR, Ill. – A late surge up the team standings has the Illinois State Redbirds in third place with 18 holes to play in the 2021 MVC Championship, hosted at Flossmoor Golf Club.
The Redbirds' two-round opening-day score of 613 was just behind Southern Illinois' 611. Tournament host Loyola leads the way with a dominating two-round total of 592. Missouri State (615), Bradley (615), Valparaiso (616), Drake (630), UNI (631), and Evansville (651) round out the nine teams in the field. Throughout most of the second round the Redbirds found themselves as low as eighth in the team standings, before the late run pushed the 'Birds up five spots.
The Redbirds go into the final round in the top grouping and will tee off starting at 9:30 a.m. on the course.
Leading the way for ISU was Andrew O'Brien who carded rounds of 76 and 77, as his two-round 153 has him tied for 11th in the field. O'Brien opened his day with his round of 76 that saw him pick up a pair of birdies as well as 10 pars. Over his final 18 holes he carded a 77, which included two birdies – including on his final hole of the day – along with nine pars.
In a balanced day for the Redbirds, three players closed the first 36 holes with identical scores, with Dan Anfield (78, 77), Felix van Dijk (82, 73), and Joe Hodgson (76, 79) all finished with a 155, which is tied for 14th among the golfers in the tournament.
van Dijk had the top round of the day for ISU with a second-round 73, which followed an opening-round 82. His opening 18 holes 11 pars and seven scores over par. He was consistent over his final round with two birdies, three bogeys and 13 pars.
Anfield had a balanced day with rounds of 78 and 77, including three birdies and eight pars over the first 18 holes, and he followed that with two birdies and 11 pars over the final round.
Hodgson had 11 pars and a pair of birdies over the first round, and he came back with four birdies and eight pars over the last 18 holes to close inside of the top-15.
David Perkins had rounds of 77 and 79 to close with an opening-day 156, to tie for 21st overall. He had a pair of birdies and nine pars over his opening round, and he closed his day with two birdies – one on his final hole of the day – and eight pars to close out as the team's fifth golfer.
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