McLean County Times

The Illinois State men's golf team secured a 10th place finish at the 2025 Ram Masters Invitational in Fort Collins, Colorado. The tournament, hosted by Colorado State, featured a competitive field.

Pietro Pontiggia led the Redbirds with a career-low three-round score of 211, finishing 11th overall. His final round of 68 was just one stroke off his personal best set in 2023 at the Dayton Flyer Invitational. Pontiggia improved on his previous 54-hole best of 212 from last season's Dorado Beach Collegiate. After starting the day two over par at the turn, he finished strong with four birdies and five pars on the back nine, marking his third under-par round this season.

TJ Barger ended the tournament tied for 14th place with a three-round total of 213. He closed out with a one-over-par 71 that included three birdies and eleven pars.

Francis Bautista recorded a final-round score of 73 with one birdie and thirteen pars, bringing his total to five birdies across all rounds.

Aiden Cudney and Max Faucquez both finished tied for 66th place. Cudney posted a final-round score of 72, highlighted by two birdies and twelve pars. Faucquez shot a three-over-par 73 with three birdies and nine pars.

Long Beach State won the event with an even-par score of 840. Host Colorado State placed second at 842, followed by Utah Tech (848), Weber State (854), UC San Diego (855), Utah Valley (857), Denver (864), UC Davis (866), and Sacramento State (868). Illinois State completed their three rounds at 871, finishing ahead of teams such as Wichita State, UC Santa Barbara, CSU Fullerton, CSU Northridge, Utah State, and Wyoming.

The Redbirds will compete next at the Badger Invitational in Madison, Wisconsin on September 22-23 at TPC Wisconsin.