KETTERING, Ohio – The Illinois State men's golf team climbed three spots over the final round – the largest jump into the final round in the field – as the Redbirds placed fifth at the Dayton Flyer Invitational.
The Redbirds' final-round 293 was the third-best of all the teams in the tournament over the final 18 holes, as only second-ranked Illinois (881), 43rd ranked Marquette (885), Wright State (893), and Marshall (894) finished ahead of the 'Birds. Among the schools chasing ISU include tournament host Dayton (903), Ball State (905), Eastern Michigan (908), Loyola (912), Cleveland State (914), Xavier (915), Oakland (920) and Bowling Green (923).
Using a one-under final round, Redbird senior Valentin Peugnet – ranked 92nd in Golfstat's individual ranking – climbed nine spots over the final 18 holes into a tie of fourth place overall, knotted with Golfstat's 10th ranked golfer Tommy Kuhl of Illinois and ahead of fourth-ranked Adrien Dumont de Chassart, also from Illinois. Alex McCulla used an even-par final round to climb 22 spots during the final round into a tie of 22nd, while Parker Wisdom tied for 27th in the field. Felix van Dijk placed in a tie of 32nd, while Pietro Pontiggia placed 82nd for ISU.
Opening on the par-five fifth hole, Peugnet started with a birdie and was never over par at any point during his round. He dropped as low as two under par with a birdie on his sixth hole and was able to weather a stretch of nine holes with seven pars and two birdies to stay at even par before he birdied the second hole on the course to send him into the clubhouse with a one-under final round.
McCulla – opening on the par-four seventh hole – started his final round with seven consecutive pars before a bogey on his eighth hole pushed him a stroke over par. After three more pars he evened his score with a birdie on the course's 18th hole, only to suffer a double-bogey on the first hole on the course. He climbed to as high as three strokes over par with a third and final bogey; however, he finished strong with a birdie on the fourth hole, and he ended his round with ISU's only eagle of the tournament on the par-five sixth hole, dropping him to even par into the clubhouse.
Wisdom had eight pars and a birdie on his round, as he closed the tournament 14 over par following his final-round 79. Felix van Dijk had three birdies in his final round, along with 10 pars to close the weekend with his best score of the tournament, a two-over 73 to see him finish with a 229. Pontiggia struggled in the cold and windy weather and was never able to gain his footing in the tournament and closed with a final-round 88.
The Redbirds take a four month break between tournaments, next taking to the course in Laredo, Texas on February 13 and 14, 2023 at the Border Olympics held at the Laredo Country Club.
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