GULF SHORES, Ala. – Carding the third-best team score on the second day of the 2022 Craft Farms Intercollegiate, the Redbirds climbed a spot in the team standings and are within striking distance of the heart of the field heading into the third and final day of the tournament tomorrow.
"My focus is one day at a time," commented Ray Kralis, Illinois State men's golf head coach. "We were much more competitive today against the field with a solid team effort in the second round, and it was good to see Valentin (Peugnet) and Alex (McCulla) bounce back with under-par rounds. We need some more of that tomorrow."
South Alabama continues to distance itself and holds a 20-stroke advantage on the field with 18 holes to play in the tournament. Oral Roberts (576) and Georgia State (577) round out the top three, with Southern Illinois and Rice knotted with a 578 for fourth and fifth place. Eastern Michigan (580), Lamar (584), Louisiana (585), Oakland (588), and Eastern Kentucky (589) all stand ahead of the Redbirds, while ISU is ahead of the Big East's DePaul (598) and UConn (602).
ISU tees off tomorrow morning alongside Eastern Kentucky and DePaul for the final round of the tournament.
Two Redbird golfers, Valentin Peugnet and Alex McCulla, closed the second day with matching one-under-par 71's, while Joe Hodgson carded a 73 and Andrew O'Brien a 74. Hodgson has the team's lowest two-round standing with a one-over 145, which is tied for 13th, while Peugnet's 149 has him tied for 40th. McCulla and Felix van Dijk are tied for 49th after a two-round 151, while Andrew O'Brien is tied for 156th with a 152, while Parker Wisdom, playing as an individual, stands in 72nd with a 159.
Peugnet opened his day on the par-five 10th hole, and started with a birdie, never being above par for the day. He had a stretch mid-round with bogeys on his fourth, seventh, and tenth holes to push to three shots under par. His last eight holes saw six pars and a pair of bogeys, finishing the round with a one-under 71.
McCulla also didn't spend any time above par in the round, as he kicked off his round with six consecutive pars before birdying his seventh and eighth holes. Over the next five holes he dropped two strokes to get back to even par; however, after a par he put together his second back-to-back birdie stretch before closing his day with a birdie to finish with the one-under 71.
Hodgson opened his day with a stumble out of the start, with three pars, two bogeys and a double bogey over the first six holes, standing at four shots over par. He came back and finished strong with 10 pars, a birdie and an eagle over his final dozen holes, dropping his aggregate score to one over for the round.
The fourth and final team scoring player for ISU came from O'Brien, who finished with a two-over 74. He was under or at par for nearly the entire day, as he had two birdies against one bogey over his front nine holes, and dropped to two strokes under par. He gave a stroke back with a bogey on his 14th hole and was a stoke under par before a triple-bogey on his final hole of the day pushed him to two strokes over par for the round.
van Dijk opened his day with five pars, before hitting a stretch of nine holes in which he had an eagle, a birdie, two pars and five over-par holes, pushing his score to three shots over par; however, he closed with four consecutive pars to end his round with the three-over 75.
Playing as an individual, Parker Wisdom started at under par with a birdie on his first hole, and he had two birdies and nine pars over his round, finishing with a six-over 78 for the middle 18 holes of the tournament.
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