BARK RIVER, Mich. – Behind a career-low 66 in the second round from Valentin Peugnet, the Illinois State Redbirds stand in second place in a strong field at the Island Resort Intercollegiate, including sitting ahead of both Michigan and Kentucky in the 13-school field.
The Redbirds' two rounds of 287 and 285 have them as one of just two schools to be under par in each of the opening two rounds. The combined 572 has them five strokes behind tournament leader Toledo, and ahead of Michigan (573), Kentucky (577), Miami-Ohio (578), North Dakota State (578), Valparaiso (583), Southern Illinois (586), South Dakota State (597), Kentucky's B squad (600), Bowling Green (602), Green Bay (623), and Northern Michigan (646).
The strong start of a 572 is the third time in the last five seasons that the Redbirds have kicked off the season in a big way, as the team had a two-round 571 at the Badger Invitational during the 2019-20 season, and a 572 (287, 285) at the 2018-19 Badger Invitational – eventually taking the team crown in the latter of the two.
Five different Redbirds sit in the top-25 individually in the field, led by Peugnet's six-under score of 138, which has him in second place individually, one stroke off the lead. Will Troy is tied for 15th with a 144 (even par), while Felix van Dijk and Alex McCulla have matching 145's (+1). Playing in his first collegiate tournament and playing as an individual is freshman Pietro Pontiggia, who stands tied for 24th with a 146 (+2). Parker Wisdom carded rounds of 76 and 74 to tie for 46th individually.
Peugnet started his day with two bogeys and five pars, sitting at two strokes over par through seven holes. Over his final 29 holes of the day; however, he was stellar with nine birdies, 19 pars and a bogey, including two birdies on his first round to reach the halfway point of the day at even par. A bogey to open his second 18 holes was his only above-par score in the round, as he got back to even par on the fourth hole, and went under par for the round with another birdie on the ninth hole. His back nine of the day he had five birdies and a par to finish his day with a career-low 66.
Troy tied his career-low with his second-round 71, as he closed his day with an eagle on the par-five 18th hole. His day started with a birdie on the opening hole, and another birdie on the eighth hole to drop to two strokes under par. A stretch of three bogeys over a four hole span at the turn pushed him back over par until a birdie on the 15th hole dropped him back to even. He closed his round with a bogey on the 18th hole to take a one-over 73 into the turn between rounds. After opening the second round with three straight pars he had back-to-back bogeys, which was followed with three consecutive birdies, making the turn to the final nine holes at one stroke under par. Two more bogeys in the final nine holes had him at one shot over par until his end-of-day eagle gave him his 71.
van Dijk and McCulla each shot matching 145's, each with a one-under 71 in the opening round and a three-over 74 for the second round. van Dijk had four bogeys and three pars over his opening round, with three birdies and five bogeys over his final 18 holes. McCulla opened his day with a bogey on the first hole, before coming back with seven straight pars followed by an eagle on the par-five ninth hole. His back nine had two birdies and two bogeys to close the round with a one-under 71. His second 18 holes opened with another bogey followed by a pair and a birdie, eventually making the turn at even par. His back nine saw for bogeys and two birdies, ending the round with a two-over 74.
In his first collegiate tournament, Pontiggia started slowly, and was nine strokes over par through the first six holes of his career. His slow start he rebounded quickly ending his first nine holes with three consecutive birdies. Three more birdies to close the first round saw him finish the round at three strokes over par. His second round saw an eagle on the par-five ninth hole, three birdies and 10 pars to close at a one-under 71.
Wisdom used back-to-back birdie to close his opening nine holes at even par and had seven pars and two double bogeys to close the opening round with a four-over 76. His second round had a birdie and bogey to open the first nine holes of his second round, and was followed by six pars, one birdie, one bogey, and a double-bogey on the back half of the afternoon's round to end the day with a two over-74.
The Redbirds tee it up for the final round starting at 9:10 a.m. alongside Toledo and Michigan.
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