On the tee: 10 items to know ahead of nationally-ranked llini men's golf playing in C-U next weekend

Apr. 16—The Illinois men's golf team will play its first tournament in Urbana in 12 years next weekend. That's a dozen seasons of teams — most of them with corresponding Big Ten championships — that Illini fans haven't had many opportunities to see in person. Certainly not as convenient as at Atkins Golf Club in Urbana. To get prepared, staff writer Scott Richey spotlights 10 items Illinois fans need to know before the Fighting Illini Spring Collegiate tees off next Saturday:

Final preparations

Illinois hasn't hosted a home men's golf tournament since the 2010-11 season. The annual event at Olympia Fields Country Club technically counts, of course, with the Illini sharing hosting duties with the renowned course in the Chicago suburbs. But the Fighting Illini Spring Collegiate will be the first in Urbana since Illinois finished one stroke behind Akron in the Illini Spring Classic at then-Stone Creek Golf Club.

That Illinois team reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA championships behind All-American Luke Guthrie, Chris DeForest and then-freshman Thomas Pieters. A Georgia team boasting Harris English and Russell Henley knocked off the Illini in the first round of match play.

So, suffice it to say, it's been a while since Illinois actually played a meaningful tournament at home. Preparations for next weekend's Fighting Illini Spring Collegiate are well underway. Atkins Golf Club has been closed in the mornings so the staff could prep the course for the tournament as much as possible.

"It's not as ideal for the public not to be out on the course before 11 a.m., but it allows us to get out there to do what we need to do," said Kathy Hug, the Illinois assistant athletic director for operations. "Mother nature has been a friend of ours this week. We weren't sure what the weather was going to bring for us and what the course would be like — the conditions anyway — so we have been very fortunate these last couple weeks of even being out there."

The course will be closed Wednesday and Thursday this upcoming week. That's when the final preparations will be completed, including painting various logos and fine-tuning the course for tournament play. One team will practice Thursday, and Friday is reserved as an all-day practice day.

Bust out an I-L-L chant during a backswing? Maybe not

Not familiar with the best way to take in golf in person? Unaware of the dos and don'ts of tournament behavior? Jim Buyze, director of golf at Atkins Golf Club, has you covered.

"We will have maps with tips for great viewing spots," Buyze said. "You are able to follow groups by walking on the cart path. From the golf shop area, you can see seven holes and can move easily between them.

"We do ask that fans stay on the cart path or behind the ropes. Limit movement and conversation while players are hitting shots. And do not try to talk with players or seek autographs during their rounds."

Adjusting the layout

Regulars at Atkins Golf Club will see the course play a little differently for the Fighting Illini Spring Collegiate than a regular weekend round. Longer, for sure.

"The tournament tees will allow us to play at about 7,500 yards if conditions permit," Buyze said. "If it is windy, we will need to adjust a little bit. The greens will be prepared a little bit differently — rolling, top dressing and rolling — but not too much differently. The fairways are being rolled to make them a little firmer, which makes it a little more difficult to keep the ball in the short grass."

Next week's weather will determine the final condition of the course. The current forecast calls for a 40 percent chance of rain Wednesday and a 50 percent chance Friday with high winds in between on Thursday.

"Mother Nature will play a big role," Buyze said. "Right now, with a little bit of a dry pattern, we are able firm up the greens and fairways. If that remains to be the case, greens will be difficult to hold shots — particularly from the rough. Also, the wind will play a big role as it so often does here in the spring and fall."

Player perspective: Two thumbs up

Tommy Kuhl was something of a golf nomad through most of his Illinois golf career. The Illini boast one of the top practice facilities in the nation just off St. Mary's Road in Champaign, but they didn't have a true home course to speak of until the renovations at Atkins Golf Club were complete.

"It's a championship-style golf course," Kuhl said. "It's long. From the tips it's almost 7,400 yards. The greens are undulated. They put a lot of work into the bunkers, which makes the course great, and the maintenance of it is first class. We just enjoy as a team going out there and having the opportunity to play a long golf course. The local country clubs here are great, but we don't get the length that we want and see at the college level."

A look at the field

Illinois has typically played its final regular season tournament at the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate hosted by Ohio State. Illinois men's golf coach Mike Small decided to go head-to-head with the Buckeyes — and draw some of the teams regularly in the field in Columbus, Ohio — by offering a different type of event.

"The Kepler is going on at Ohio State this time of year, but they changed the format," Small said, referring to the now three-day event at OSU Golf Club. Illinois' is a two-day tournament, with action slated to start at 7:30 a.m. next Saturday before the final round tees off at 8 a.m. next Sunday. Admission to the tournament is free.

"We're only allowed so many days of competition per year," the Illinois coach continued. "I think if we continue to do this in the future, I think more teams will want to come in."

The Fighting Illini Spring Collegiate has a smaller tournament field than most events Illinois plays. The fourth-ranked Illini crushed the 14-team field earlier this week at the Tiger Collegiate Invitational in Columbia, Mo. Their other four tournaments since February — all top-five finishes, including two more wins at the Hal Williams Collegiate in Mobile, Ala., and the Southern Highlands Collegiate in Las Vegas — have come against similar-sized fields.

Illinois will be one of nine teams playing at Atkins Golf Club next weekend. The other teams in the field include Nebraska, Northwestern, Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Ball State, Eastern Michigan and Loyola Marymount. Illinois is the prohibitive favorite since Small's group is playing on its home course and its the only team ranked in the Top 25 in the latest Golfstat rankings in the field.

"We wanted the Big Ten flavor," Small said. "To have Big Ten teams come in was important. I think fans can relate to Big Ten teams. ... Some other Big Ten teams are showing interest in the future."

Top-flight talent

Small admits he doesn't get out much this time of year. He's at the Demirjian Indoor and Lauritsen/Wohlers Outdoor golf practice facilities from "dawn to dark." If he's not working with his team, he's at home.

But even Small has heard the Champaign-Urbana golf community buzzing about the chance to see the Illini in person next weekend.

"We've got two of the top 11 players in the country on our team this year, and Northwestern's got a couple," Small said. Illinois' fifth-year seniors Adrien Dumont de Chassart and Kuhl are ranked fifth and 11th, respectively, in the Golfstat rankings. The Wildcats boast reining Big Ten champion David Nyfjall, who beat Dumont de Chassart by one stroke last year at The Pete Dye Course in French Lick, Ind.

"Just to see our guys and put faces with names," Small said would be good for Illinois fans and his program. "Our team gets talked about on Golf Channel or on podcasts more than people around see them."

The expectation is a sizable crowd for next weekend's tournament.

"We hope there's tons of people here," Hug said. "I'm sitting on a golf cart seeing where we could put additional parking around here if we need it."

Future plans

The Atkins family gifted then-Stone Creek Golf Club to the University of Illinois in June 2020. An anonymous donation of $5 million followed that September to fund a comprehensive, tee-to-green, renovation. The wholesale changes to the course were meant to elevate the level of play to suit the Illini men's and women's golf programs while keeping it an enjoyable experience for the community on the public course.

There was another factor involved, too. Make Atkins Golf Club challenging enough, and Illinois would be in position to place a bid to host an NCAA golf regional just like it has hosted NCAA championships in men's gymnastics and tennis in recent years.

Illinois has already started to look into the bid process for an NCAA golf regional. The next bid process is still a couple years away. That gives the Illini time to show off their newly-renovated — and challenging — golf course.

"We have a few years before we can put the bid in, so it would be a few years after that before we could host," Hug said. "Hopefully we do a good job with this tournament and can continue it, and (the NCAA) could see the potential to bring in a regional. Hopefully the teams enjoy it. I think the course is what we wanted it to be to host those type of events."

Work to do

The renovations of Atkins Golf Club delivered what Small envisioned when the project started. A "tough, demanding golf course" the veteran Illinois coach said he was anxious to see hold up against good college players.

The initial renovation dealt with several areas of importance. Every bunker on the course was redone and repositioned. The fairways were narrowed. The greens were rebuilt.

"There is a phase two we have in our minds," Small said. "Right now we attacked all the playing areas — the fairways, the bunkers, the greens. Next is the rough and the periphery that probably needs to be improved or reconditioned appropriately. ... Right now, I don't think the public would know what we're talking about, but as a professional golfer and coach I see the warts, if that makes sense. I'm very proud of where it is. It's ready, but I think there's another phase to it."

Senior day for Illini

Next weekend's tournament will be Illinois' last before championship season begins. One final tuneup before the Big Ten Championships from April 28-30 in Galloway, N.J.

One last home event before the postseason? Sounds an awful lot like an exceedingly rare "Senior Day" for a team that spends the vast majority of its season competing away from home. The Illini could honor several golfers. Kuhl, Dumont de Chassart and Southern Illinois transfer Matthis Besard are all playing their fifth seasons. Jerry Ji and Nico Lang are also seniors, although they could both return for a fifth year.

"It's weird to think of it like that because this our first year of doing it," Kuhl said. "It is going to be fun for me and Adrien to play together. We've been through it all in five years."

Kuhl is trying to make the most of his last few tournaments playing for Illinois. The Morton native is guaranteed next week at Atkins, the Big Ten championship and, given the Illini's status as a top five team in the sport, a likely NCAA regional.

"I'm a fifth-year senior," Kuhl said. "I've got a month left of college golf, and I'm really trying to enjoy and embrace everything in this last month and have fun with it. Not take it too seriously. I think that kind of frees me up.

"I have a lot of family and friends coming (next weekend). For this to be my last tournament before postseason, it's kind of the cherry on top to finish it off."

Homegrown food

Golf might be the primary attraction for Atkins Golf Club, but it isn't the only one. An on-site restaurant, Homegrown, draws a crowd, too. Chef and owner Ryan Rogiers sees the first Illinois golf tournament in Champaign-Urbana in more than a decade as a unique opportunity to spread the word about Homegrown to a bigger crowd.

"This is a chance for us to showcase what we do here at Homegrown — make delicious food using local farm ingredients and create an atmosphere where everyone feels like family," Rogiers said.

Rogiers describes the offerings at Homegrown as "upscale sports bar fare" that uses local products as much as possible.

"A few of my favorites and most popular are the fried cheese curds from Ropp Jersey Creamery (in Normal) and the Italian beef burger — a grilled, grass-fed burger, cheddar cheese, Italian beef and giardiniera," Rogiers said.