NCAA MEN'S GOLF NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP INFORMATION
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Eugene Country Club

Champaign, Ill. - Fighting Illini men's golf is making its ninth consecutive NCAA National Championship appearance this season, coming off of the program's fourth consecutive NCAA Regional title. The Illini will compete at the 2016 NCAA Men's Golf National Championship in Eugene, Oregon, May 27-June 1. This marks Illinois' 24th NCAA Championship appearance in program history and the 11th under head coach Mike Small. The Orange and Blue have qualified for the NCAA National Championship in each of the last nine seasons, which marks the second-longest active streak in the nation. Texas and USC have qualified for 10 consecutive seasons. The Illini have finished among the top-5 at the National Championship in four of the past five years. 

ILLINI AT THE NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

NCAA National Championship Appearances: 24

NCAA Top-5 Finishes: 7

Most Recent Finish: T-3rd (2016)

NCAA Individual Champions: 2 (2010, 2012)

QUICK FACTS ON THE 2016 NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS (CT)

Schedule/Format: May 27-30: Stroke Play: 72 holes

                                    Friday, May 27: First Round (18)- 9 a.m.

                                    Saturday, May 28: Second Round (18) - 9 a.m.

                                    Sunday, May 29: Third Round (18) - 9 a.m. - Top 15 teams advance

                                    Monday, May 30: Final Round (18) - 1:30 p.m. - Top 8 teams advance

                            May 31-June 1: Match Play

                                    Tuesday, May 31: Match Play Quarterfinals - 9 a.m./9:50 a.m.

                                    Tuesday, May 31: Match Play Semifinals - 3:30 p.m./4:20 p.m.

                                    Wednesday, June 1: Championship Match - 4:10 p.m.

Course: Eugene Country Club

Par/Yardage: Par 70  |  7,014 yards

Live Scoring: golfstat.com

Twitter: @IlliniMGolf

GOLF CHANNEL COVERAGE

The Golf Channel will provide pre-tournament, live and post-round coverage of the NCAA Men's Golf Championships beginning on May 30. Live coverage will begin Monday, May 30 (4-7 p.m. PT) and continue each day of play. Tuesday, match play rounds will air live from 10:30 a.m. to 12: 30 p.m. PT and again from 3:30 to 7 p.m. PT. Wednesday's championship match will air from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT. 

REGIONAL SUCCESS

The Illini took home their fourth consecutive NCAA Regional Championship title in 2016, winning the NCAA Kohler Regional by four strokes. Illinois is one of just two teams in the nation to win four consecutive regionals as Arizona took home four titles from 1990-1993. Illinois boasts three individual regional medalists over the past six seasons as Brian Campbell won back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015 and Luke Guthrie won medalist honors in 2011. Four Illini finished among the top 25 at the 2016 Regional, led by seniors Thomas Detry and Charlie Danielson who tied for third overall. 

SENIOR LEADERSHIP

Both multiple-time All-Americans, seniors Charlie Danielson and Thomas Detry continue to lead the Illini this season. The two lead the squad in season stroke average, and have accumulated a combined 16 top-10 individual finishes this season. The two have shot even par or better in 38 rounds this season. The two Illini veterans were named semifinalists for the Jack Nicklaus Player of the Year Award recently, and both received All-Big Ten First Team honors following the Big Ten Championships. 

BIG TEN DOMINATION

The Fighting Illini won the 2016 Big Ten Championship title in record fashion this season, shooting 24-under par in the final round of play to earn a come-from-behind victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes. Illinois was trailing Iowa by eight strokes after round two and took the title by 13-strokes. The Illini have won two consecutive titles and seven in the last eight seasons. Head coach Mike Small has the unique distinction of winning one Big Ten Championship as a player (1988) and seven as a coach. 

The Big Ten has not seen such consistency from a golf program since the 1980s. Ohio State was the last team to take home seven Big Ten Championship titles in eight years from 1982-1989.

The Illini won a record seven regular season tournaments this season, taking titles at the Northern Intercollegiate, Crooked Stick Invitational, Tavistock Collegiate Invitational, East Lake Cup, Louisiana Classics, 3M Augusta Invitational and the Boilermaker Invitational. Illinois' nine tournament victories this season match last year's school-record nine titles. 

#B1G INDIVIDUAL HISTORY

Senior Thomas Detry became the sixth consecutive Big Ten Medalist from Illinois with his 10-under par victory at the 2016 Big Ten Championships. He followed sophomore Nick Hardy who won the title in his freshman campaign. Charlie Danielson split the title in 2014 after Luke Guthrie took the honors in 2011 and 2012, and Thomas Pieters won the tournament in 2013. Illinois is the only school in Big Ten history (Since 1920) to have six consecutive medalists at the championships. It marks only the fourth time in conference history (since 1920) that the same school produced an individual medalist in five consecutive seasons (Michigan (5), 1932-36; Purdue (5), 1956-60; Ohio State (5), 1976-79).  All five Illinois players finished among the top-11 individuals in 2015 and among the top-20 in 2016. 

Illinois Big Ten Medalists (18)

Year Player (site)

2016 Thomas Detry (Newburgh, Ind.)

2015 Nick Hardy (Newburgh, Ind.)

2014 Charlie Danielson (French Lick, Ind.)

2013 Thomas Pieters (French Lick, Ind.)

2012 Luke Guthrie (French Lick, Ind.)

2011 Luke Guthrie (West Lafayette, Ind.)

1999 Larry Nuger (West Lafayette, Ind.)

1993 Jamie Fairbanks (Bloomington, Ind.)

1989 Steve Stricker (Madison, Wis.)

1988 Steve Stricker (Savoy, Ill.)

1986 Steve Stricker (East Lansing, Mich.)

1982 Mike Chadwick (West Lafayette, Ind.)

1962 Mike Toliuszis (Savoy, Ill.)

1942 James McCarthy (Ann Arbor, Mich.)

1941 Alex Welsh (Lake Forest, Ill.)

1931 Richard Martin (Ann Arbor, Mich.)

1930 Richard Martin (Wilmette, Ill.)

1923 R.E. Rolfe (Evanston, Ill.)

CLEANING UP THE B1G AWARDS

For the seventh consecutive year, Illinois golfers have recorded the most Big Ten Golfer of the Week honors in the league, earning seven awards in six weeks.  Charlie Danielson and Thomas Detry shared the honors after both winning their matches at the East Lake Cup. 

Last season, Illinois' nine weekly honors marked the most won by any Big Ten team since the league began distributing golfer of the week honors in both the fall and spring seasons. 

DANIELSON DOMINATING

Fighting Illini senior Charlie Danielson is having a record season, he leads the Illini with two event titles this year, and was chosen as a semifinalst for the prestigious Ben Hogan Award. Danielson was nominated for the Byron Nelson Award and is a finalist for the Jack Nicklaus Award. He is a three-time Big Ten Golfer of the Week. The senior leads the Illini with a 70.70 season stroke average, and has shot under par in 15 rounds played this season. Danielson made his first-ever PGA Tour event appearance this year, winning the Northern Trust Open Collegiate Showcase to qualify for the Northern Trust Open. Danielson was also named this year's Big Ten Medal of Honor Recipient. 

ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS

The Illini won a record seven regular season tournaments this season, taking titles at the Northern Intercollegiate, Crooked Stick Invitational, Tavistock Collegiate Invitational, East Lake Cup, Louisiana Classics, 3M Augusta Invitational and the Boilermaker Invitational. In total, the Illini are tied with last year's record of nine titles, including the 2016 Big Ten Championship and NCAA Kohler Regional title.  The 2014-15 season saw Illinois win a school-record nine tournament titles, however six of those came during the regular season. Illinois tallied six tournament wins in two seasons prior to this year, 2008-09 and 2014-15.

SUCCESS UNDER COACH SMALL

Head coach Mike Small has been named Big Ten Coach of the Year eight times during his 15-year tenure as Illinois head coach, and earned Dave Williams National Coach of the Year honors in 2015. Along with his streak of five consecutive titles (2009-13), Illinois posted three consecutive runner-up finishes from 2002-04 and took third in 2008 with Small at the helm. Small has guided Illinois to seven of its 14 conference championship titles. 

ILLINI IN THE RANKINGS

As a team, the Illini check in at No. 2 on this week's Golfweek/Sagarin ranking. Illinois is ranked fourth in the country according to Golfstat, and will play as the No. 4 seed at this year's NCAA National Championship. 

Individually, four Illini come in among the top 75 in the nation according to Golfweek. Led by Charlie Danielson (5th) and Thomas Detry (15th), UI and Texas are the only teams in the country to boast two players ranked among thet top-15 individuals. Dylan Meyer (46) and Nick Hardy (74) also rank among the top-75 according to Golfweek. 

Illinois also boasts four players ranked among the top-100 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. Detry (8), Danielson (11), Hardy (66) and Meyer (99) are all listed among the top amateur golfers in the world. 

THE VENUE - EUGENE COUNTRY CLUB

Hosting both the men's and women's NCAA Division I Golf Championships, Eugene Country Club is one of the nation's preier golf clubs located in the heart of Eugene, Oregon. The club is ranked among the top 100 courses in the United States by Golf Digest and among the top 100 Modern Courses by Golfweek. The club was organized in 1899, and is the second-oldest country club in the state of Oregon. The course will play host to the 2018 U.S.G.A. Senior Amateur Championship and hosted an NCAA Regional in 2014.  

ILLINI MAKE NOISE IN PROFESSIONAL GOLF

Illinois boasts five former players on two of professional golf's top tours, as Steve Stricker, D.A. Points, Luke Guthrie and Scott Langley hold PGA Tour cards and Thomas Pieters is a member of the European Tour. Stricker recently earned back-to-back top-15 finishes at the Northern Trust Open and the Valspar Championship, and was named Captain for the 2017 Presidents Cup. Guthrie recently placed 15th at the Puerto Rico Open at Coco Beach, and Langley tied for 11th at the same event. Pieters won back-to-back tournaments at the KLM Open and the D+D REAL Czech Masters in 2015, and recently took second at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship. 

Recent graduate, Brian Campbell, is also making waves on the Web.com Tour this season. Campbell has earned top-10 finishes at the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation (T2) and at the El Bosque Mexico Championship presented by INNOVA (T8) this year.