Illinois Golf: Giovanni Tadiotto leads the Illini to another solid finish
After a solid finish to the first tournament of the spring session, the Illinois golf team entered a more competitive field this past weekend.
The John Burns Intercollegiate was a three-round tournament held in Lihue, Hawaii from Thursday through Saturday. It consisted of 21 teams in which seven of those programs were ranked in the top 45 in the nation.
A little less than two weeks ago, No. 43 Illinois entered their first tournament since their rough fall session. They were able to take home second place in a 14-team field. They also finished ahead of two ranked teams. This was a good showing for the Illini. But they had to keep up the momentum in the John Burns Intercollegiate.
Illinois accomplished this goal. They went into the John Burns Intercollegiate and showed why they are one of the best teams in the country. The Illini shot a three-day total of -7, which was good enough for fourth place. The only teams to finish ahead of the Orange and Blue were No. 10 Texas A&M (-19), No. 40 New Mexico (-14) and No. 15 BYU (-8).
A third-round -8 helped boost the Illini up into fourth place. They finished ahead of teams like No. 28 California, No. 6 Arizona and No. 14 North Carolina. Beating those highly ranked teams shows you that this Illinois program is on the rise.
Giovanni Tadiotto is quickly emerging as the best golfer on the Illini roster. He finished the tournament -6, which was good enough for a tie for third place. This makes back-to-back top-five finishes for Tadiotto in the spring session. That is an impressive run.
Freshman Jerry Ji continued to impress as he finished with the second-best score on the team with a three-round total of -1. This was good enough for a tie for 22nd place. Ji has now placed in the top 25 in both of the tournaments this spring. Michael Feagles tied with Ji at -1 and for 22nd place. He has also placed in the top 25 for both of the tournaments this spring.
Illinois’ final two starters for the John Burns Intercollegiate were Noah Gillard and Adrien Dumont de Chassart. Gillard didn’t have a great showing but had a solid final round of -1. He finished the tournament +5 overall and in a tie for 57th. Dumont de Chassart was a stroke behind Gillard at +6 for a three-day total. He finished in a tie for 67th.
The Illini also had one individual competing in this tournament. Tommy Kuhl threw up a three-day total of +2, which was good enough for a tie for 37th place.
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Overall, I would say this is another good showing for Illinois. They had a top-five finish and they beat out some solidly ranked teams. I think we could see a jump in the rankings. I also believe Tadiotto could be ranked soon too. With two top-five finishes to start the year, he should see a boost in his national profile.