BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Fighting Illini men's golf team rallied on the back nine in the final round of the Hoosier Collegiate Invitational on Monday, catching Day 1 leader Cincinnati to secure a share of the team title at the Pfau Course at Indiana University.
The Illini posted the low team score for the second-consecutive round, erasing the Bearcats' two-stroke advantage behind strong performances from seniors Adrien Dumont de Chassart and Tommy Kuhl, who placed second and tied for third, respectively.
"I was happy with the way we closed the tournament the last nine holes," head coach Mike Small said. "The guys always compete, and as a coach, I always appreciate that. However, being the first event of the year, we had some sloppiness in some stretches of golf that we need to really improve on moving forward. But for the first event of the year, to close like they did on the back nine, and make up ground, shows some resiliency."
Dumont de Chassart finished as the Illini's top individual with a significant rally of his own. He entered the day tied for eighth, and was 1-over through nine holes on Monday – with a pair of double-bogeys on the front nine – before shooting 4-under on the back nine to nearly catch IU's Drew Salyers for medalist honors. The runner-up finish marks the 14th career top-10 for Dumont de Chassart, and his closing 68 gives him 22-career rounds in the 60s.
Kuhl, who entered the final round in second place after rounds of 70 and 68 on Sunday, carded a closing 72 to finish one stroke behind Dumont de Chassart, and two shots off the lead. His three-round total off 211 (-2) marked the lowest 54-hole score for the senior in his last nine events, since firing a career-low 209 in the Illini's opener last season at the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate.
"Tommy and Adrien were big parts of our team last year, and they had a good tournament this year in the first event, and that shows that they will be a big part of it again," Small added. "We just need to get some more depth and we need guys to be more consistent. We had stretches of golf this week, as a team, that we can't have. Tommy played solid all week. And Adrien really had a strong back nine today, to shoot 3-under with two double-bogeys on that golf course is really good play. Adrien is an all-American, so you come to expect that."
Senior Luke Armbrust also secured a top-20 finish in his first-career tournament in the Illini's scoring lineup. Armbrust grabbed a share of 18th to set his career-best mark for a 54-hole collegiate event, but did not figure into the scoring on Monday with a final round of 77.
Junior Jerry Ji (223) and sophomore Piercen Hunt (226) rounded out the scoring for the Orange and Blue in Round 3. Ji, who opened with a 77 and shot 74 in Round 2, continued to improve on Monday with a closing 72 to jump nine spots into a tie for 29th. Hunt, making his first-career start in the Illini lineup, also carded his lowest round of the tournament on Monday, and likewise moved up nine spots from Round 2, to finish in a tie for 40th.
Junior Nico Lang, teeing off as an individual competitor, shot 78-76-81 to tie for 57th in the 84-playe field.
Illinois and Cincinnati each finished with a 54-hole team score of 858 (+6) to hold off host Indiana (860) by two strokes, in what turned out to be a three-team race. Indiana State (875) finished 15 strokes behind IU in fourth place, followed by Valparaiso (884) to round out the top five.
UP NEXT
The Illini return to competition, Sept. 17-19, at famed Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill., to welcome 15 of the nation's premier programs for the 15th annual OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational. The event is contested on the Par-70, 7,205-yard North Course, and offers a demanding but fair test for a field of some of the best players in the country.
The 2021 OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational field is made up of some of the nation's most successful collegiate golf programs. Alongside defending national champion and preseason No. 1-ranked Pepperdine, the No. 10 Illini welcome Alabama (RV), No. 22 Arizona, No. 3 Arizona State, Baylor (RV), Cal (RV), No. 17 Florida, No. 12 Florida State, Indiana, No. 4 North Carolina, No. 2 Oklahoma State, Purdue, No. 15 Stanford, and No. 5 Texas.
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For more Fighting Illini men's golf news, stay tuned to FightingIllini.com and follow @IlliniMGolf on social media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook.
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Illini Rally to Share Title at Hoosier Collegiate - University of Illinois Athletics - Fighting Illini
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