BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – In a deep field of 14 schools and playing for the first time this spring in the Midwest, the Illinois State men's golf team is in third place overall with 18 holes to play at the 2023 Hoosier Collegiate hosted at Pfau Course.
ISU's two-round 595 trails only 49th-ranked Chattanooga (584) and tournament host Indiana (591). Looking to chase down the Redbirds in the final day include Dayton (596), Valparaiso (596), Murray State (601), DePaul (604), Central Arkansas (606), Eastern Michigan (608), Southern Illinois (613), Butler (613), Navy (617), IUPUI (623), Central Michigan (625).
Valentin Peugnet's 147 has him tied for eighth in the field of 78 golfers, with all three Redbirds residing inside of the 39th spot or better. Alex McCulla and Felix van Dijk have matching 149's and are tied for 14th, while Pietro Pontiggia's 153 has him tied for 33rd, while Parker Wisdom is in a two-way tie for 39th after his two-round 154.
The Redbirds tee off for a third consecutive round alongside Chattanooga and Indiana, with Wisdom teeing off on the first hole at 9:10 a.m. CT, while Pontiggia tees off at 9:20 a.m., van Dijk at 9:30 a.m., McCulla at 10:40 a.m., and Peugnet at 10:50 a.m.
Peugnet had a rough start to open his day at the tournament, and over his first nine holes he had three pars, two birdies, and four over-par scores, standing at four over par at the turn; however, he turned it on in the second half of the round with four birdies in his first six holes of the back nine to quickly cut his score to even par. His last three holes were a bogey, birdie, and par to end the round with an even-par 71. His second round had three birdies, six over-par scores, and nine pars for a five-over 76.
McCulla's rounds of 76 and 73 have him with the 149, as his opening 18 holes had 13 pars and five bogeys to finish five strokes over par. He added a pair of birdies and a dozen pars over his second round for a two-over 73.
Over his first 18 holes van Dijk had a pair of birdies – including his final hole of the day – a dozen pars and four bogeys for the two-over first 18 holes. He had 14 pars and four over-par scores over his second round and shot a five-over 76 to end the day.
Pontiggia had an up-and-down first 18 holes, as his front nine had two birdies, four pars and three over-par scores, before he settled in over his back nine and had a birdie, five pars and three bogeys, ending the round with a five-over 76. His back nine of 77 saw a birdie and 10 pars.
Bloomington, Illinois, native Wisdom opened his round with a nine-over 80 with two birdies and six pars, before rebounding with a strong second round, finishing with a three-over 74 which included a dozen pars and two birdies.
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