CINCINNATI, Ohio - After back-to-back top-three finishes in strong events, the Illinois State men's golf team takes to the road for the third tournament over the opening three weeks of the season, traveling to Cincinnati to compete in the Bearcat Invite.
Event: 2022 Bearcat Invite at Coldstream
When: Monday, September 19 - Tuesday, September 20
Where: Coldstream Country Club; Cincinnati, Ohio
Par: 71
Yardage: 7,279
Live Scoring: GolfStat.com
Participants (2022 Golfstat Ranking): Louisville (38), Kentucky (62), Sam Houston (74), Cincinnati (75), UNCG (82), Memphis (104), Lamar (109), Rutgers (110), Santa Clara (123), Illinois State (125), Miami (169), Ball State (163), Xavier (239)
Tee Grouping: Lamar, Sam Houston, Illinois State
Redbird Lineup (tee time, ET):Â Pietro Pontiggia (9:55 a.m.), Alex McCulla (10:05 a.m.), Parker Wisdom (10:15 a.m.), Felix van Dijk (10:25 a.m.), Valentin Peugnet (10:35 a.m.)
Last Time Out: Behind under-par rounds from Felix van Dijk and Valentin Peugnet, the Illinois State men's golf team held off a field full of power-conference chargers to take third at the 2022 Badger Invitational, as only nationally ranked Texas A&M and tournament host Wisconsin topped the Redbirds. Among the schools behind ISU in the field includes Nebraska, Purdue, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Marquette, Cincinnati, South Florida, and Maryland. For their efforts, van Dijk and Peugnet shared MVC Golfer of the Week honors, the first career honor for van Dijk, and the fourth career honor for Peugnet - the second this season.
History at the Tournament: ISU has once previously competed in this event while hosted at Coldstream Country Club, and that was during the fall of 2019. That season the 'Birds tied for seventh of 13 schools with rounds of 288 (+4), 288 (+4), and 291 (+7). The Redbirds were led in the tournament by David Perkins, who set an Illinois State school record with a three-round 202 on the par-71 course, carding rounds of 67 (-4), 68 (-3), and 67 (-4), placing third overall.
Chasing History: The Redbirds this season have been under par in all five of the team's rounds this season. The last time an ISU squad had a longer under-par streak to open a season was during the 2018-19 season when the team opened with five straight such rounds - which is now tied for the program record with this season's open.
