After an 11-month break from competition due to COVID-19, the Illinois men have returned to victory with a vengeance.
The Fighting Illini have won their first two tournaments of the spring, claiming the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate wire-to-wire two weeks ago and last week’s LSU Invitational at the Tigers’ University Club.
“This was a great win for our guys against a top golf conference with a lot of great coaches and great players,” said head coach Mike Small. “At this time in the season, I’m very proud of the guys for coming down here and competing against this level of competition.”
Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings: Men’s team | Men’s individual
College golf blog: The Road to Grayhawk
Illinois, +12, won by two shots over Vanderbilt and five over third-place South Carolina. The tournament field featured 12 of 14 Southeastern Conference schools.
“They faced a lot of adversity this week, with the conditions, the weather and the golf course, and scores showed that. But the resiliency they showed on the back nine today is what team golf is all about,” continued Small. “I was proud of them for staying the course, after a rough front nine, and staying steadfast and keeping on point.”
The Illini’s consistency at the top half of the leaderboard paid off in the long run, with three players finishing inside the top 15: Michael Feagles, T-4 (+2), Adrien Dumont de Chassart, T-7 (+3) and Jerry Ji T-15 (+5).
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