DORADO, P.R. – After a strong opening round of 277 at the Dorado Beach Collegiate, the Illinois State Redbirds matched the score in the second round, carding a second-consecutive 277 and at -22 are in sixth place in the strong field at the event.
ISU senior Felix van Dijk, after his second-round 68 and 36-hole score of 135, is tied for fifth individually, while Will Troy – playing as an individual – is tied for 14th after a two-round score of 137. TJ Barger is tied for 23rd with a 139 (68-71), as Valentin Peugnet and Pietro Pontiggia are tied with a 141 with matching scores of 71 and 70 over each of the two rounds. Parker Wisdom shot even par in the second round and is -1 on the tournament with a 143 which puts him in a tie of 53rd, as Alex McCulla shot a four-under second round of 68 and is tied for 73rd overall.
Day one leader UNCG stretched its lead into the second day and holds the 36-hole lead with a 539. Ball State (548), Kent State (551), West Virginia (552), and UTSA (552) are directly ahead of the Redbirds heading into the final day of competition on Tuesday which tees off at 6 a.m. (CT). Following behind the Redbirds include Louisiana Monroe (557), Valparaiso (557), Butler (558), George Mason (561), Maryland (565), Southern Miss (568), Denver (576), Winthrop (579), Army West Point (581), Old Dominion (583), and Bryant (597).
van Dijk climbed into the top five with a four-under par 68 on the second day to follow up on his score of 67 on Sunday. His round had two eagles, four birdies and 10 pars, and opened on the par-three fourth hole. His day started with a trio of pars, two birdies and an eagle over his first six holes of the day; however, he followed with his only rough stretch of the round with a bogey and a triple bogey on back-to-back holes that pushed him back to even par. He wasted no time in pushing back under par, as he immediately followed his triple bogey with a birdie and an eagle, and three holes later his third birdie of the round. He ended his day with four straight pars to finish with a four-under 68.
McCulla and Troy each shot second-round 68's on the day, McCulla using five birdies and a bogey, and Troy seven birdies and two over-par scores. McCulla was never over par on the day, using three birdies over his first eight holes to drop to three shots under par, and after his lone bogey, closed the day with two more birdies and seven pars. Troy carded a double-bogey on his third hole, pushing him to two shots over par; however, he answered quickly with four birdies over his next nine holes before closing his day with birdies on each of his final three holes.
Pontiggia – ISU's second of two individuals in the field – shot a second-round 70 in a round that saw him finish with an eagle, three pars, and 11 pars, while Peugnet also shot a 70 with five birdies 11 pars.
Barger had a steady round with two birdies, a bogey and 15 pars to close at -1 with the 71, and Wisdom had both three birdies and bogeys, along with a dozen pars to finish his round at even par.
