McLean County Times

Putting up a low round of 69, Alex McCulla tied for the second-lowest NCAA Regional round in Illinois State University program history. McCulla and Valentin Peugnet concluded the season for the Redbirds at the NCAA Regional in West Lafayette, Indiana. McCulla's three-under-par score was among the top performances of the day, with only six golfers shooting under 70 during the final round.

McCulla's score was just one stroke shy of the program's NCAA Regional record set by Trent Wallace in 2017 at Kampen Golf Course. He finished tied for 33rd individually, marking the second-best individual finish at a NCAA Regional for Illinois State, following Wallace's seventh-place finish that led to a National Championship appearance.

Throughout the season, McCulla and Peugnet set individual tournament records with scores of 199, tying for the lowest in program history. The team also achieved a new program record for a tournament low score with an 832 at the 2024 Border Olympics and matched their lowest round record with a second-round score of 273.

For this season, McCulla ended with a scoring average of 71.4, ranking as the second lowest in program history. Peugnet followed closely with an average of 71.743, placing third. In their careers, Peugnet holds an average of 73.078 (fourth lowest), while McCulla has an average of 73.21 (fifth lowest).

Starting his day slowly, McCulla opened with a par and bogey before making four consecutive birdies to turn three shots under par. His back nine included five pars followed by a birdie on hole 15 to reach -4 on the day. He alternated between bogeys and birdies over his last three holes to finish at three-under-par.

Peugnet began strong with an early birdie but faced challenges with two bogeys and later double-bogeys on his back nine, concluding his collegiate career with a five-over-par round of 77.

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