COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Illinois State men's golf team had its best start to an NCAA Regional in program history, as the Birds are in fifth place one third of the way through the 2026 Columbus Regional, ahead of five Nationally ranked programs at the Ohio State University Golf Club.
Second-ranked Florida has a commanding lead on the field with a seven-under par 277, while Memphis is second with a 289, with #14 Stanford and #25 Florida State standing in a tie for third place with a first-round 290. ISU's 293 is ahead of #11 Arizona State (294), #48 California (296), Wright State (296), #38 South Carolina (298), #23 Long Beach State (298), USF (300), Oregon (300), and #35 Utah (300).
After the final round on Wednesday, the top five teams in this and each of the five other NCAA Regional fields will earn a spot at the NCAA National Championship, hosted at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California.
Individually, Pietro Pontiggia led the way for the Redbirds, as his first round one-over par score of 72 has him tied for 11th, as he had four birdies and eight pars on his day. He finished -1 on the course's par four holes, which is tied for the fourth-best scoring total in the tournament.
Both Max Faucquez and TJ Barger finished with a two-over 73 to tie for 19th, as Barger had two birdies and a dozen pars, while Faucquez had three birdies and 10 pars. Barger's even-par scoring on the par four holes is tied for the sixth-best in the tournament after the first day.
Freshman Sam Ottwell finished with a four-over 75 as he had three birdies and eight pars to tie for 45th, with Francis Bautista closing out a stroke behind with a five-over 76 with two birdies and nine pars. Bautista's scoring average of 2.75 on the par three holes is tied for the best in the field, while Ottwell's -2 scoring on the par five's is tied for the third-best in the tournament.
The Redbirds will tee off tomorrow alongside Arizona State and either Stanford or Florida State for the second of three rounds at the event.
