ISU Climbs to Second at Close of Hawkeye Invite
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Illinois State carded a final-round 290 – the second-lowest in the field on the day – as the Birds climbed two spots into second at the finish of the tournament, closing as the runner-up at the 2025 Hawkeye Invite at Finkbine Golf Course.
The Redbirds passed tournament host Iowa and 40th-ranked Little Rock into the runner-up spot, finishing just behind 50th-ranked Kansas at the finish of the tournament. Kansas carded a team score of 837, with the Redbirds behind with an 856. Iowa (857), Little Rock (864), South Dakota State (878), Minnesota (879), Northern Illinois (881), Kansas City (899), Drake (899), North Dakota State (900), Southern Illinois (903), Wichita State (904), and Missouri State (906) rounded out the 13 schools in the tournament field.
Two players – Will Troy and TJ Barger – tied for fifth overall with a 54-hole score of 212 (-4), while Alex McCulla had a team-low 70 in the final round to finish with a one-over 217 on the tournament, tied for 13th. Pietro Pontiggia tied for 17th with a three-over 219 for the team's fourth golfer, while a pair of freshmen – Max Faucquez and Aiden Cudney – tied for 58th and 61st respectively in the tournament.
McCulla had seven birdies on his day, to go along with eight pars to finish with a final-round 70 (-2). For the tournament, his 3.87 strokes per par-four score was tied for the best in the field. Barger finished with an even-par 72 with three birdies and a dozen pars, while his 4.08 strokes per round on par-5's was tied for the best in the tournament.
Faucquez rebounded with a strong final round, using five birdies and eight pars to finish with a one-over 73 on the final round, with Pietro Pontiggia using a birdie and 13 pars on the final round to finish with a three-over 75. Will Troy's final round 77 (+5) was ISU's fifth score on the day, and over the tournament, his 3.90 average score on par-4's was the third lowest among the 74 golfers in the tournament. Cudney – playing as the team's individual – closed with a birdie and four pars on the final round.
Next up for the Birds is the 2025 MVC Championship, hosted at Des Moines Country Club in Des Moines, Iowa on April 20-22.
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