LAFAYETTE, La. – Playing on a heavily tree-lined course at Oakbourne Country Club in Lafayette, Louisiana, the Illinois State Redbirds had a difficult final round, as the squad finished 15th overall at the Louisiana Classics, ISU's sixth time playing in the event.
The Redbirds had rounds of 291, 292, and 304 for the 887 in the tournament. Nationally ranked Texas A&M (28th) won the tournament for the third consecutive season, with Sam Houston, LSU, Wake Forest, and SMU rounding out the top five schools in the tournament field.
After returning to campus for a weekend break, the Redbirds return to the course on Sunday, March 24 for the first of a three-day Mobile Bay Intercollegiate, hosted by South Alabama at Magnolia Grove Golf Course.
Junior Alex McCulla was both the third-round and tournament low score, finishing with a even-par 72 in the third round, and finished tied for 18th in the deep and strong tournament field. Valentin Peugnet finished two strokes over par over the three rounds, and tied for 26th, with Felix van Dijk tying for 58th with a three-round 224 (+8). Parker Wisdom (231) placed 80th, while TJ Barger (237) finished tied for 86th.
McCulla started fast on the day with birdies on his first two holes and was never over par during the final round. He made the turn at one shot under par as he added a birdie, four pars and two bogeys over the remainder of his front nine, and he had six pars, a birdie and two bogeys over his final nine holes to finish at even par on the round, finishing one stroke over par over the course of the team's three rounds, climbing 10 spots individually over the final day.
Parker Wisdom had a final-round 76 (+4) in the tournament and was two over par over his first nine holes after five pars, a birdie and three bogeys. He had a tumultuous start to his back nine, as he had a par, a pair of bogeys, before coming back with back-to-back birdies on the 13th and 14th holes. His final four holes saw two pars and two bogeys, giving him his four-over round score.
After a strong first two rounds, Peugnet stumbled over his final 18 holes, finishing with a six-over 78, and he had three birdies, eight pars over his final 18 holes. van Dijk, along with Peugnet, carded a final-round 78 with 13 pars and five over-par scores to finish six shots over par. The Redbird squad got its fifth score from TJ Barger, who for 17 of the team's 18 holes was three shots over par; however, a forgettable ninth hole propelled him to his final-round score of 84.
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