NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State men's golf head coach Ray Kralis has announced that former Illinois golfer, and Bloomington High School standout TJ Barger has been added as a transfer starting in the 2023-24 season.
Barger played one season with the Illini, playing 13 total rounds with a scoring average of 75.92, including a low round of 70 at the Millikin Country Club Classic, finishing the tournament tied for fourth at one under par.
Out of high school at Bloomington HS, he was the top ranked Illinois golfer in the AJGA rankings. He won the IHSA Class 2A State Championship as a sophomore in 2018-19 and finished fourth as a junior in 2019-20. During the fall of 2020 season, he won the individual medalist honor at the Normal Boys Golf Regional, and then tied for the medalist honors at the Peoria Richwoods Regional. While at the Regional he tied with current Redbird golfer Alex McCulla, as the state championship was not held due to COVID-19.
He recorded three top-three AJGA finishes, including runner-up at the 2020 D.A. Points Junior Open, and third place at the 2020 Circle K Championship and the Stan Utley & Mid-America Youth Foundation Junior Championship. He averaged a 74.0 during his high school career, including a career-low round of 65...Named the 2019 Male of the Year from the Bloomington-Normal Area Sports Commission.
The Redbirds are coming off a 2022-23 season in which they won the MVC Championship before finishing inside of the top-10 at the NCAA Bath (Mich.) Regional. Last season ISU had four golfers average under 75 strokes per round, including Valentin Peugnet and Felix van Dijk who each averaged stroke averages of 73.1 for the season.
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