The Illinois golf team continues to do amazing things on the course every year.
Heading into the Big Ten Tournament that just concluded on Sunday afternoon, the Illinois golf team had won the title eight times in the last nine years which included three in a row. That is an impressive run considering the turnover this program’s roster has had.
While some of the same faces are back, Illinois seems to lose at least one golfer every year. But, like the New England Patriots in football, the Illini just reload and are back in the mix the following season. Illinois went back into the Big Ten Tournament this year as the favorites again and they didn’t disappoint.
After day one, the Illini actually weren’t in the lead, though. They were two shots back of the Ohio State Buckeyes but were still very much in striking distance. Like I said before, you can’t win the tournament on the first day, but you can lose it. The Illini kept themselves in the mix and that is all that mattered.
Day two was moving day, and Illinois took full advantage. They shot an incredible score of 268 which was led by Michael Feagles who dropped a 64 on the field. Let me just say how amazing that score is once again. He is Illinois’ No. 5 golfer. It’s not like he is the anchor for this team. Getting a number like that from your No. 5 golfer will help you win every golf tournament imaginable.
This great round by Feagles helped propel the Illini to a one-shot lead over Ohio State. After the second day, the field fell back and it was just the Illini and Buckeyes vying for the Big Ten title. Day three proved to be the deciding factor.
Ohio State didn’t play well shooting a 301 on the final day. This was the fourth-to-worse score on the day. Illinois took full advantage of Ohio State’s struggles and shot a solid 287 to take home the title. They ended up winning by 15 strokes despite heading into the final day only one stroke up.
Individually, the Illini were amazing. Nick Hardy took home medalist with a three day total of -6. Both Bryan Baumgarten and Michael Feagles finished in a tie for fifth place at +2 for the tournament. Dylan Meyer wasn’t too far behind shooting +3 for the three days and finishing in a tie for eighth place. Illinois’ fifth-best score for the tournament was Giovanni Tadiotto who threw up a +7 which was still good enough for a tie for 22nd place.
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Illinois now heads to the NCAA Regionals in a couple weeks to see if they can get back to the NCAA Championships and potentially win that title that has eluded them for years. This team is extremely deep, and I believe they can come home with the crown.