MADISON, Wis. – Behind a two-under par opening round, the Illinois State men's golf team stands in second place in the strong 14-team field that features schools from the Big Ten, Big 12, and American Athletic Conference.
"It was a strong team effort today to get us started," said Redbird head coach Ray Kralis. We know the field is deep and there is a long way to go, so we need to stay in the present and gain more confidence through the round tomorrow."
Illinois State carded a team score of 286 (-2), second only to Sam Houston State's 280 (-8). Iowa State (290), South Dakota State (291), Northern Illinois (291), Wisconsin (291), Toledo (295), Cincinnati (292), Eastern Michigan (295), Abilene Christian (296), High Point (298), Augusta (298), Coastal Carolina (298), and Xavier (304) rounded out the 12 schools behind the 'Birds.
Leading the way for ISU was Parker Wisdom, whose two-under round of 70 has him tied for third overall in the field. Andrew O'Brien finished a shot under par with a 71, which has him tied for ninth, while Valentin Peugnet finished one stroke behind with an even-par 72, tied for 15th. Joe Hodgson finished one stroke over par with a 73, tied for 27th, while Felix van Dijk finished seven strokes over par and is tied for 70th in the field.
Wisdom and the Redbirds opened their days on the 10th hole on the course, and his first six holes had four pars and two bogeys, standing two shots over par. He turned around his day over the next eight holes, with an eagle on the par-five 16th hole, a birdie on the par-three 17th, back-to-back birdies on the first and second holes, and another birdie on the par-three fifth hole to drop him to four strokes under par. He closed with two pars and two bogeys to end the day at two shots under par.
O'Brien had a balanced round, as he opened his day with 10 consecutive pars, before his one and only birdie on the par-five second hole. He closed his day with seven consecutive pars, ending at one shot under par.
Peugnet's even-par round opened with a pair of pars followed by a bogey on his third hole of the day. After three more pars, he carded a birdie on the 16th hole to even his round. After five more pars he had a bogey on the fourth hole, and he closed his day with a birdie on the par-five ninth hole to even out his round.
Hodgson had 13 pars on his opening round, to go with two birdies – on the par-five 16th and the par-five second, ending out the one-over 73. van Dijk – after returning to collegiate action after his appearance at the Dutch Open – had a birdie and 11 pars en for his seven-over 79.
The Redbirds tee off tomorrow morning starting at 10:40 a.m. on the first hole along with Iowa State and Sam Houston State.
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