MADISON, Wis. – Behind four Redbirds at or under par, including a team-low 69 from redshirt sophomore TJ Barger, the Illinois State men's golf team finished five strokes under par after the opening round of the 2023 Badger Invitational.
Barger finished three shots under par while Parker Wisdom shot a two-under 70 with Valentin Peugnet and Alex McCulla each shooting an even-par 72.
The Redbirds are tied for fifth in the strong field with a 283 alongside Central Arkansas. FGCU shot an opening-round 274 (-14) while Middle Tennessee (281), Long Beach State (282), and Nebraska (282) representing the schools just ahead of ISU. South Dakota State (286), VCU (288), Eastern Michigan (288), Campbell (290), Northern Illinois (290), Marquette (291), Ball State (294), Wisconsin (296), Western Carolina (299), South Alabama (300), Maryland (303), and Loyola Chicago (308) round out the 18 schools in the field through the opening 18 holes.
Barger opened strong with three birdies over his first five holes of the day and made the turn with a three-under 33. A bogey to open his back nine was followed with seven consecutive pars and a round-ending birdie to card a season-low round of 69 (-3), his third at or under par round of the season through seven total rounds. He heads into the second round tied for sixth individually.
Wisdom was blemish-free over his front nine as he opened and closed his first nine holes with birdies, and had seven pars in between, making the turn at two strokes under par. His back nine opened with a bogey and then a birdie to get back to two strokes under par, and he closed his round with seven consecutive pars to finish with a two-under 70 with his third round under par this season. With his under-par round he is tied for 17th with 36 holes remaining in the tournament.
Peugnet had an up-and-down round, as he opened with four pars and a birdie; however, the middle stretch of his opening 18 holes had six pars and three bogeys, and he was two strokes over par with four holes to play; however, birdies on his 15th and 16th holes and two pars to finish sent him to the clubhouse at even par.
For as topsy-turvy Peugnet's round, McCulla was the picture of steadiness for his even par round, as he opened with seven consecutive pars before his only bogey of te round on the par-three eighth hole. Five more pars followed until he carded his lone birdie on the par-four 14th hole, closing his round with four more pars to finish with an even-par 72. Both McCulla and Peugnet are tied for 28th in the 90-person tournament field.
Felix van Dijk started strong with a birdie and eight pars to open his round, before birdies surrounding the turn to push to one over par. Two birdies over the next three holes dropped him back to a shot under par; however, three pars and two over-par scores send him into the clubhouse with a two-over 74. He currently stands tied for 49th in the field, a third of the way through the tournament.
Playing in the Badger Individual at TPC Wisconsin, Pietro Pontiggia and Will Troy each finished inside of the top eight, with Pontiggia using rounds of 73 and 70 and is one under par and in third place, while Troy has had rounds of 78 and 70 and is four over par and tied for sixth in the individual field.
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