WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Putting up a low-round of 69 from Alex McCulla – tied for the second-lowest NCAA Regional round in program history, while he and Valentin Peugnet ended the season for the Redbirds. His three-under-par score on the day was tied for the fourth lowest on the day, and he was one of just six golfers to shoot under 70 during the final round.
McCulla's 69 was one stroke back of the program NCAA Regional low score of 68 set by Trent Wallace in the opening round of the 2017 NCAA Regional – also held at Kampen Golf Course. The Redbird junior also tied for 33rd individually, which is the second-lowest individual finish at a NCAA Regional, behind only Wallace's seventh place finish in 2017 that sent him to the National Championship.
Records by this team are nothing new, as the pair of McCulla and Peugnet set individual tournament records during the season, as each shot a tournament score of 199 during the year, which is tied for the lowest in program history and three strokes better than the previous record. The team also set a new program record for a tournament low score with an 832 at the 2024 Border Olympics, while shooting a second-round 273, which is tied for the lowest round in program history.
For the season, McCulla's end-of-season scoring average of 71.4 is the second lowest in program history, while Peugnet's 71.743 is third lowest. For their careers, Peugnet's 73.078 is the fourth lowest in program history, while McCulla's 73.21 is the fifth lowest.
The junior from Quincy, Illinois, started his day slow with a par and a bogey over his first two holes. He came back with three more pars before running off a stretch of four birdies in four holes, making the turn at three shots under par. His back nine started with five consecutive pars, before a birdie on the par-four 15th hole dropped him to -4 on the day. He alternated bogey and birdie over the last three holes, finishing with the three-under 69 to tie for 34th.
Peugnet had a strong start to the round, dropping in a long birdie putt on the second hole to drop to one under par. He followed that with a par and two consecutive bogeys, before a birdie on the par-five sixth hole dropped him back to even par, where he stayed at the turn as his front nine was capped with three straight pars. He opened his back nine with a par and had six pars in all on the back side of the course, however, a bogey and two double-bogeys saw him end his final round as a collegian with a five-over 77 and tied for 63rd overall.
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