COAL VALLEY, Ill. – Setting marks for the lowest single-round team total since 1998 in each of the first two rounds, the Illinois State men's golf team ran away with the 2023 MVC Championship, the program's sixth conference title, and the first conference crown since 2007.
ISU's final-round 284 put the 'Birds with a three-round 836, which is the lowest three-round tournament score in program history, and the second-lowest in the history of the Missouri Valley Conference.
With the win, the Redbirds advance to the NCAA Division I Regional round. The selection show will be Wednesday, May 3 at 1 p.m. ET on the Golf channel. Regionals take place May 15-17 at six regional sites: Auburn, Alabama (Auburn University Club); Salem, South Carolina (The Cliffs at Keowee Falls); Bath, Michigan (Eagle Eye Golf Club); Las Vegas, Nevada (Bear's Best Las Vegas); Norman, Oklahoma (Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club); and Morgan Hills, California (The Institute Golf Club). The Championship takes place from May 26-31 at the Grayhawk Golf club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The Redbirds' three-round total distanced themselves from Valparaiso (849), Northern Iowa (856), Bradley (858), Murray State (862), Southern Illinois (862), Evansville (863), Belmont (869), Missouri State (882), and Drake (883).
Felix van Dijk was the individual runner-up in the tournament with a three-round 204, tied for the third-lowest tournament score in program history, while Valentin Peugnet finished seventh with a 210. Alex McCulla's 211 placed him in a tie of eighth while Parker Wisdom placed in a tie of 14th with an even-par 215. Freshman Pietro Pontiggia's 219 saw him tie for 26th in the strong field.
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