DAYTON, Ohio – Using a second consecutive under-par performance, the Illinois State men's golf team closed in fourth place at the 2023 Dayton Flyer Invitational, as Redbird fifth-year golfer Felix van Dijk tied for the runner-up spot individually.
van Dijk carded a final-round 71 – even par – to end in a two-way tie for first place with a three-round 207 (-6). Reigning MVC Player of the Week Valentin Peugnet tied for 16th in the tournament with a one-under 212, while Wisdom – behind a low round of 68 over the final 18 holes – carded an even-par 213 to tie for 18th overall.
Marquette won the team crown with a three-round 840 (-12) with 19th-ranked Illinois finishing second with an 841. Wright State ended the tournament just ahead of ISU with a 842 while ISU had an 845 over the three rounds. Marshall, Miami (Ohio), George Mason, Bowling Green, Dayton, Cleveland State, Loyola, DePaul, and Bradley rounded out the 13 schools in the tournament field.
Wisdom had a stellar start to his round, with five birdies and added 11 pars for the three-under 68 to close the tournament.
van Dijk's final round saw him sit at or under par for the majority of the round and was only above par for two holes after back-to-back bogeys on the 14th and 15th holes, before he birdied the 17th hole to drop back to even par at the finish.
Peugnet also finished at even par over his last 18 holes with four birdies and 10 pars, securing his fourth top-20 finish of the 2023-24 season.
Playing as an individual, Pietro Pontiggia ended his day with an even-par 71, which followed his career-low 67 to end the day yesterday, as he had four birdies and 11 pars for his round, ending the tournament at three shots over par.
Alex McCulla closed the tournament with a one-under par final round, as he had two birdies and 15 pars over his consistent round and closed in a tie of 39th individually.
TJ Barger closed play in a tie of 43rd at the final tournament of the fall season, and closed play until February with a final-round 76 (+5) as he had a birdie and 11 pars in his round, closing play at seven strokes over par for the 54 holes.
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