Bushnell Golfweek Coaches Poll
Norman, Okla. – Fighting Illini Men's Golf earned the No. 1 spot in the Bushnell Golfweek Coaches Poll on Friday, as announced by the Golf Coaches Association of America. Illinois received 15 first-place votes in the poll, as the squad has started the season with consecutive tournament victories.
"It's flattering that the coaches consider us the No. 1 team in the country due to the way we played the first two tournaments of the year," head coach Mike Small said. "I'm proud of my guys, they played well in those first two tournaments. However, we know that it's a long season and that we will need to continue to improve in order to reach our goals for the year."
Illinois joins Oklahoma State, Auburn and LSU among the top four teams in the poll, and the Illini are the only Big Ten squad to be listed among the top 25.
Illinois opened the 2016-17 season with a comeback victory at the Wolf Run Intercollegiate. The Illini were trailing by 11 strokes entering the final round of the rain-shortened event, but the Orange and Blue rallied to win the event by 13 strokes and placed all seven individuals among the top 30. Illinois continued its hot start to the season at the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational, earning another 13-stroke victory over the tournament field.
The Illini are gearing up for the Northern Intercollegiate, which will be held at The Beverly Country Club in Chicago, Ill., Oct. 9-10. Stay tuned to FightingIllini.com for all the latest on Illinois Men's Golf.
