Illini men's golf captures eighth straight Big Ten title
Apr. 30—GALLOWAY, N.J. — The feeling never gets old.
Even when the weather doesn't cooperate.
The Illinois men's golf team weathered wind and rain throughout the weekend to extend its Big Ten record streak of conference championships to eight.
The Illini emerged victorious after the third round at Galloway National Golf Club was canceled because of rain on Sunday. Illinois' team score of 8-under par 560 through the first two rounds was enough to easily defeat runner-up Northwestern (577) and third-place Wisconsin (583).
All five of Illinois' golfers placed within the top 13. Matthis Besard and Tommy Kuhl led the Illini at 2-under 140 — tying for third — while Jackson Buchanan and Adrien Dumont de Chassart finished in a tie for fifth at 1-under 141. Piercen Hunt finished in a tie for 13th at 2-over 144.
Iowa's Mac McClear and Northwestern's Daniel Svard tied for first at 139.
"It was a little weird (Sunday) with all the weather and all the stuff that we had to make early," Dumont de Chassart said. "So it's a little different, especially when we have four guys who are in contention for the win. But it's a team sport, and I think we're all very excited for this win."
Illinois was the only team of the 14 in the field that collectively finished under par.
The Illini led after each of the first two days of the tournament, which played differently thanks to an ever-changing weather forecast. Illinois' 8-over 292 ranked first after Friday's windy and rainy round. The highest score among the 14 teams on a calmer Saturday was Nebraska's 10-over 294.
Illinois finished Saturday with a 16-under 268 to cement its victory. Sunday's round was delayed due to adverse conditions before ultimately being called off shortly after it started around midday.
"We don't care what the conditions are, we don't care when we start, when we finish, just be ready to play," Kuhl said. "We came out firing and played to the best of our ability, whether that was in the sun, in the wind or in the rain.
"We don't care about the conditions, we just want to go out there and compete for one another and try and win a championship because that's what we're here to do."
Four Illini — Besard, Buchanan, Dumont de Chassart and Kuhl — earned places on the all-Big Ten championship team.
The Illini have now won 13 of the last 14 Big Ten men's golf championships, another conference record.
"This is the a product of the work, a product of the vision and the desire these guys have during the season," Small said. "I'm happy for those guys. The Big Ten Conference is the juggernaut of college athletics and these guys know that we've won all those in a row, eight now and 13 of 14, I think they've known that and they want to keep it going."
Next up for a confident Illini team is an NCAA regional on May 15. The Illini will find out where they're going at noon on Wednesday when the six regional assignments are announced by the NCAA. The closest regional to Champaign-Urbana is at Eagle Eye Golf Club in East Lansing, Mich. Auburn University Club in Auburn, Ala., The Cliffs at Keowee Falls in Salem, S.C., Bear's Best in Las Vegas, Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club in Norman, Okla., and The Institute Golf Club in Morgan Hill, Calif., are the other five regional sites.
The top five teams at each regional will advance to the NCAA Championships that start May 26 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. The Illini failed to make it out of regional action last year, snapping a streak of 13 consecutive seasons that saw the Illini reach the NCAA Championships.
"In college, (golf) is a team sport," Small said. "Guys in our program really embrace that. They know they've got their own games to worry about when they turn professional and the rest of their life, this is probably the last time they'll be on the team and close with guys like that and share the success with each other. They embrace it, and they take a lot of pride in playing for the school."
