LAREDO, Texas – Behind consecutive 299's over the first two rounds, the Illinois State men's golf team stands 12th in a loaded field at the 2022 Border Olympics.
"Overall, we looked better today than the scoreboard indicates," said ISU head coach Ray Kralis. "It was good to be back in team competition with a little heat. Everyone had good runs through the day, but we were not able to put many complete rounds together. We have to keep the big numbers off the card tomorrow, and if we do that, we can make a little move."
The Redbirds' 598 is 13 strokes away from sixth place in the field, showing the depth of the field. Houston paces the 14 teams with a 567, while Sam Houston State and 50th-ranked Baylor are tied for second with a 574. Lamar (575), Louisiana Tech (577), ULM (585), Rice (588), UTSA (592), New Mexico State (594), Bowling Green (595), and Michigan (596) stand directly ahead of ISU, with Houston Baptist (604) and Abilene Christian (612) round out the 14 schools in the tournament.
Leading the way for the Redbirds is Valentin Peugnet, who finished the day with a one-over 143 after rounds of 72 and 73, which places him in a tie for 13th. Joe Hodgson is tied for 38th after rounds of 77 and 73, while Parker Wisdom's two-round 152 (74-78) has him tied for 53rd. Alex McCulla and Andrew O'Brien each finished with a two-round 154 to tie for 61st: McCulla's coming via rounds of 76 and 78 and O'Brien's 79 and 75.
Peugnet opened the day with an even-par 72, where he had four birdies, three over-par holes, and 11 pars for his team-leading round. His second round saw two birdies, two over-par holes, and 14 pars, finishing with a one-over 73, and inside of the top-20 in the field with 18 holes to play.
Hodgson had a birdie and 11 pars over his first 18 holes, finishing with a five-over 77 over the first time around the course, before closing strong with a one-over par 73 for the second round, one that included four birdies and 10 pars. Early in his second round he had a stretch of three birdies and four pars over a seven-hole stretch.
Parker Wisdom had a hot stretch in the middle of his second round, as he had a six-hole span where he picked up three birdies and three pars, and behind that hot stretch closed his opening round with a 74. He had an up-and-down second round that saw two birdies and a dozen pars en route to his six-over 78.
McCulla had the longest birdie stretch on the day for ISU, as he had a stretch of three consecutive birdies for his opening-round 76. He also had the team's only eagle on the day in the second round, as he closed the final 18 holes with two birdies, and eagle and nine pars, finishing with the six-over 78.
O'Brien's first round saw 13 pars, finishing with a seven-over 79, before coming back with a three-over 75 with four birdies and eight pars.
The 'Birds get back onto the course tomorrow morning for the third and final round of the tournament.
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