CINCINNATI, Ohio - After a strong opening tournament in which the Redbirds saw the individual tournament scoring record re-written, in addition to a top-three all-time team tournament score, Illinois State returns to the course on Monday, September 18 for the first of two days at the Bearcat Invitational, hosted by the University of Cincinnati.
Event: Bearcat Invitational
When: Monday, September 18 - Tuesday, September 19
Where: Coldstream Country Club // Cincinnati, Ohio
Par: 71
Yardage: 7,279
Live Scoring: GolfStat
Participants (2023 Golfstat Rankings): BYU (37), Chattanooga (41), Cincinnati (42), UNCGÂ (51), Little Rock (54), Middle Tennessee State (66), Sam Houston (67), UCF (68), Southern Miss (74), Arkansas State (79), Florida Gulf Coast (93), Illinois State (108), Virginia Tech (119), Nebraska (120), Jacksonville (131)
Redbird Lineup:Â Alex McCulla, Valentin Peugnet, Parker Wisdom, Will Troy, TJ Barger
History at the Event: ISU has twice previously competed in the event, the first during the fall of 2019 where the 'Birds tied for seventh of 13 schools with rounds of 288, 288, and 291, as David Perkins set the single-tournament school record with a three-round 202 with rounds of 67, 68, and 67. Last season the Redbirds placed fourth with rounds of 281, 281, and 291, finishing with an 853 (+1), as Alex McCulla tied for second with a 207 (-6), while Valentin Peugnet finished two shots under par with a 211, and tied for eighth.
About the Golf Course:Â Coldstream Country Club is one of Cincinnati's premier private clubs, situated on 190 idyllic acres, featuring an elite, championship 18-hole golf course. It has hosted numerous Ohio amateur and open championships as well as USGA qualifiers. It annually host the Bearcat Invitational, UC's home men's golf tournament, every September.
Last Time Out: Behind a record-setting tournament from Alex McCulla, becoming the first Redbird golfer in program history to shoot under a 200, the Illinois State Redbirds finished second of 11 schools at the 2023 Island Resort Intercollegiate over Labor Day weekend, carding the program's third-best tournament score in history. ISU's 839 trails only the school-record 836 by the squad at least season's MVC Championship, and the 837 at the ASU Indian Classic during the 2007-08 season. Each of the team's three rounds are inside of the top-35 single-rounds in school history, including the 278 from the first round (10th), the 280 from the second round (24th), and the 281 from the final round (31st). McCulla used rounds of 64, 65, and 70 for his school-record score. He finished three shots ahead of second place in his first collegiate individual victory. Parker Wisdom and Valentin Peugnet each carded a tournament score of 211 and tied for 11th. Wisdom, in his career-low tournament, had rounds of 74, 66, and 71 to finish five strokes under par. Peugnet had rounds of 73, 68, and 70 for his near-top-10 finish.
