LAFAYETTE, La. – Climbing four spots on the final day, the Illinois State men's golf team had the second-highest upward movement on the day in the strong field, as ISU climbed to 12th place overall in the two-day, three-round event.
Texas A&M – ranked 29th in the latest clippd National Ranking – won the event by seven strokes with an 840, with #48 Little Rock (847), Middle Tennessee (848), East Tennessee State (850), and Michigan (851) rounding out the top five, while New Mexico State (852), Lamar (853), North Texas (854), tournament host Louisiana (859, Sam Houston (862), and Oral Roberts (863) finishing just ahead of ISU's 864. Louisiana Tech (865), Texas State (866), South Alabama (866), and Southern Illinois (868) rounded out the teams in the 16-school field.
Leading the way for the Birds was TJ Barger, who carded his third under-par round of the three-round event, as he tied for eighth for his sixth top 10 finish in eight events in the 2025-26 season. His final-round 71 gave him a three-round score of 210, his fourth tournament score at 210 or lower this year. He had 38 pars over the 54 holes, tied for the second-most in the tournament, while his 3.93 average score on par fours is tied for the eighth best.
Pietro Pontiggia had the team's second-best tournament score, as he finished with a three-round 213, capped by a one-over 73 on the final round. Over his final time around the course he had three birdies and a dozen pars, and his average score of 2.92 on par threes is tied for the eighth-best in the tournament.
Sophomore Max Faucquez closed the tournament with an even-par 72, giving him +4, 220 for the tournament. In his final round he had four birdies, an eagle, and nine pars. Over the entirety of his 54 holes he had an average score of 2.83 on par three holes, tied for the third best in the field.
Sam Ottwell finished with a 70, closing with a 222, and tied for 67th in the field, while his 70 is tied for the 29th-best round score in ISU history by a freshman. Francis Bautista ended with a two-over 74 for the final round, as his three-round score of 229 placed him 89th in the field.
The Redbirds return to action on Monday, March 30 and Tuesday, March 31 when the team travels to Memphis, Tennessee, to compete in the Memphis Intercollegiate, hosted at Colonial Country Club.
