ISU goes into the Missouri Valley Conference Championship beginning Monday at Porto Cima Golf Club in the Lake of the Ozarks brimming with confidence.
The Redbirds just won one of the biggest tournaments in program history, capturing the Purdue Invitational. ISU fired a 16-under-par 560 total over 36 holes (the final round was canceled because of inclement weather Sunday) to beat the host Boilermakers by a stroke and No. 5-ranked Oklahoma by two.
The Redbirds were unanimous favorites to win last year's MVC Tournament but stumbled to a fourth-place finish. The addition of junior Joel Durnford of Australia, who was last year's junior college national champion at Iowa Western, and the emergence of sophomore Dan Anfield has provided Redbird coach Ray Kralis with a deep and talented squad in quest of its first MVC title since 2007.