DAYTON, Ohio – Behind a second-round 65 from fifth-year Felix van Dijk, the Illinois State men's golf team stands three strokes under par after with 18 holes to play at the 2023 Dayton Flyer Invitational.
van Dijk had rounds of 71 and 65 for a 36-hole total of 136, which is tied for second in the strong field. The 65 ties his career-low and is tied for the fifth-lowest single-round in program history. With his round of 65, Illinois State has seven different golfers who have shot under 70 this season through 14 total rounds.
Illinois and Marquette are knotted at the top of the leaderboard after the first day, each carding a two-round 559, while Wright State has a 562 with 18 holes remaining, just ahead of Illinois State's 565. Marshall, George Mason, Dayton, Bowling Green, Cleveland State, Miami, Loyola Chicago, DePaul, and Bradley all fall in behind the 'Birds.
The 13 schools in the field return for the third and final day of competition tomorrow morning.
The Redbird fifth-year golfer van Dijk opened his day with an even-par 71 before answering back with his low score of 65. His opening 18 holes saw five birdies, five bogeys, and eight pars, before coming back in the afternoon with nine birdies, just three bogeys and six pars for his career-low-tying score.
Valentin Peugnet comes into the final round of the tournament one stroke under par, with rounds of 72 (+1) and 69 (-2), as he had three birdies, four bogeys and 11 pars over the opening round, before ending his day with an eagle and two birdies, 13 pars and a pair of bogeys for his 10th round this season at or under par.
TJ Barger opened his day with a one-under 70, as he had a stretch of four birdies over a five-hole span, and had six total birdies over his opening 18 holes to go with seven pars. His back nine saw birdies on back-to-back holes, while adding 11 pars and finished the day with a two-over 144.
Parker Wisdom and Pietro Pontiggia each shot matching 36-hole totals of 145, but each got to their score in different ways. Wisdom was consistent for the two rounds, shooting a 73 and 72 to finish the first day three shots over par, as he had three total birdies and 27 pars for the 36 holes.
Pontiggia opened his day with a 78 but came back strong with a second-round 67. He had four birdies in each of his rounds; however, had a bogey-free second round for his new career-low round.
McCulla had one of the team's two eagles on the day in the second round, and he had two birdies and 13 pars in the first round with 11 additional pars in the second round.
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