LAFAYETTE, La. – Behind back-to-back rounds of 289, the Illinois State men's golf team stands in a tie for eighth place in a loaded field at the Louisiana Classics hosted at Oakbourne Country Club.
"We had encouraging signs today as we had some great runs as a team with multiple guys under par through long stretches," said ISU head men's golf coach Ray Kralis. "The course took some shots back, but its great to see three of our guys in the top-25 with the strong of a field. While the top couple of teams have separated, we are in the mis with a strong bunch, and need a good team effort tomorrow."
Texas A&M, ranked 21st in the Golfstat Top-25, leads the field with a dominating 36-hole team score of 542 (-34), with #25 LSU second with a 557 (-19) and North Texas third at 561 (-15). Kansas State's 568 and Houston's 569 close out the top five in the field. 17th ranked Ole Miss (571) and #41 Little Rock (575) are sixth and seventh, while UTSA is tied with the Redbirds with a 578. Louisiana Tech (579), Rice (579), Sam Houston (581), Mississippi State (583), Louisiana (590), Michigan (594), and Lipscomb (597) round out the 16 schools in the field.
Joe Hodgson is the top Redbird finisher after one-under-par rounds of 71 and 71 have him tied for 20th, while Andrew O'Brien and Felix van Dijk each shot a two-round 144 for an even par day that puts them tied for 25th. Valentin Peugnet shot a four-over 148 for the first two rounds, while Parker Wisdom's 153 has him tied for 82nd.
Hodgson's opening round saw him start on the 13th hole, and was two shots over par through the first 10 holes, and had a five-hole stretch with three pars, a birdie, and a bogey to remain at two shots over par. He closed strong, ending his first round with a birdie, eagle, and par, to end his opening 18 holes at one shot under par. He opened his second round with a bogey before dropping to two shots under par with three birdies and a par over his next four holes. His score dipped to as low as three shots under par through eight holes and ended his second round with nine pars and a double-bogey over his final 10 holes, finishing with a one-under 71.
O'Brien opened his day with a three-over 75, a round that saw him shoot a dozen pars, five bogeys, and an eagle on the par-five 11th hole. He was never over par in his second round, as he opened his final 18 holes with two pars and two birdies. He dropped as low as three shots under par, before he followed with three consecutive bogeys to push him back to even par. He responded with a strong finish, as he birdied his final three holes to close the round at three shots under par, and at even par for the two rounds.
van Dijk had two birdies and to bogeys to start his day at two shots over par through four holes, before closing strong as he had three birdies and 11 pars over the final 14 holes of his opening round, shooing a one-under 71 through the first 18 holes. Starting his second round on the 12th hole, he kept his momentum going with a par and two birdies at the beginning of his second round to drop to two shots under par. He dropped as low as three shots under par on his 10th hole of the round; however, a triple bogey pushed him to two shots over par, which he cut in half with a birdie on his next-to-last hole of the day en route to his one-over 73.
Peugnet carded one of the team's three eagles in the opening round, as he was never under par, but was also never more than two shots over par through the first 18 holes, as he had nine pars, three birdies and an eagle over the opening round. In his second round he had a birdie and a dozen pars en route to a four-over 76, the team's fourth counting score in the round.
Wisdom had a pair of birdies and 13 pars over his opening 18 holes, finishing with a three-over 75 through 18 holes. He followed that with a round of a birdie and 11 pars, carding a six-over 78 as the team's fifth score of the round.
ISU returns to the course for the third and final round tomorrow in the opening tee group from the first hole at 7:30 a.m. and will be golfing alongside UTSA – who is tied with the Redbirds – and Little Rock which stands three shots ahead of the 'Birds.
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