VERONA, Wis. – For the third consecutive weekend the Illinois State men's golf team will take to the golf course, competing in the 2024 Badger Invitational, an event that the Redbirds have previously competed in for 10 consecutive fall seasons. ISU has won the event twice (2018 and 2021) with a runner-up finish in 2023 and a third-place finish in 2022 and 2013.
Event: Badger Invitational
When: Sunday, September 29 - October 1
Where: University Ridge Golf Course / Verona, Wisconsin
Par: 72
Yardage:Â 7,286
Live Scoring:Â Clippd
Participants:Â Ball State, Green Bay, Illinois State, Long Beach State, Memphis, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northern Illinois, South Dakota State, Southern Illinois, Southern Miss, VCU, Washington State, Western Kentucky, Winthrop, Wisconsin
Redbird Lineup (starting hole #1): Will Troy (10:20 a.m.), Pietro Pontiggia (10:30 a.m.), TJ Barger (10:40 a.m.), Aiden Cudney (10:50 a.m.), Alex McCulla (11:00 a.m.) - Individual: Francis Bautista (11:10 a.m. - 10th hole).
History at the Tournament: This season is the 11th straight that the Redbirds have competed in this event, as the 2020 fall event did not take place due to the pandemic. ISU has won two of the last five years at the event, taking first in both 2018 and 2021. ISU's second round score in 2021 - a 273 - remains a Badger Invitational Record and is tied for the single-round school record. The team's two-round 559 from that same season is the second-lowest 36-hole mark in tournament history. Individually, David Perkins' 65 from the 2018 tournament is tied for the second-lowest single-tournament score in the 13-year history of the event, while Andrew O'Brien's first two rounds during the 2021 tournament remain tied for seventh in tournament history.
2023 - t-2nd / 18 (283 - 286 - 281 -- 852 (-12))
2022 - 3rd / 18 (283 - 286 -- 569 (-7))
2021 - 1st / 14 (286 - 273 - 297 -- 856 (-8))
2019 - 4th / 16 (289 - 282 - 290 -- 861 (-3))
2018 - 1st / 12 (287 - 285 - 283 -- 855 (-9))
2017 - t-9th / 16 (293 - 294 - 289 -- 876 (+12))
2016 - t-4th / 13 (286 - 296 - 288 -- 870 (+6))
2015 - t-9th / 12 (295 - 312 - 305 -- 912 (+48))
2014 - t-9th / 13 (306 - 306 - 304 -- 916 (+52))
2013 - 3rd / 14 (287 - 300 - 296 -- 883 (+19))
About the Golf Course: The University Ridge Golf Course is a public golf course and the official home course to the University of Wisconsin men's and women's golf teams. Robert Trent Jones Jr. designed the course, which opened in 1991. University Ridge derives its name from the landscape features left by the last retreating glacier. The course sits on the terminal moraine, where the Wisconsin Glacier stopped, forming the backbone of the ridge that separates the land into groups of rolling hills and valleys. The natural ridge dictated course construction and the designers followed the contours of the land to create a natural setting that overlooks the City of Madison. With five sets of tees ranging from 5,005 to 7,289 yards, University Ridge offers something for players of every ability level. The wide-open front nine rolls through a preserved prairie and marshland, while the first six holes of the back nine are cut out of a dense Wisconsin woodland. The course opens up again at the 554-yard signature 16th hole, which features 3 fairways and 12 bunkers. The 18th is the perfect finishing hole as a climb of 182 feet between woodland and prairie is required to complete the 443-yard par 4.
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