Oct. 1, 2007
CHAMPIONSHIP CEREMONY PHOTO GALLERY
Olympia Fields, Ill. -
Final Team Scores in PDF Format
Individual Scores in PDF Format
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History was made this weekend at the Olympia Fields/Illini Invitational. On Sunday, Oklahoma State freshman Rickie Fowler tied Vijay Singh's championship course record with a 63 in round two. On Monday, Illinois head coach Mike Small was invited to be an honorary member of the Olympia Fields Country Club, becoming the first to receive such a membership since 2003 when Jim Furyk was honored with the invitation.
"I'm not speechless very often, but in here I was speechless because I have such a fondness for this place and a liking for this place. I've made a lot of friends over the past two years, and I'm excited to make these friendships even stronger."
On the course, Fowler and Indiana's Jorge Campillo had a spirited dual for the individual title. Campillo had three straight birdies on the back nine to pull even at -7, but played +1 over the final six holes to finish second by a stroke. His 68 on Monday's third round was the low round and one of just two under par on the day. Fowler shot and even-par 70.
No. 7 Oklahoma State (857, +17) promises to move up in the polls after winning the team title by seven strokes over Big 12 rival, No. 23 Texas (870, + 30). Indiana, unranked coming into the weekend, made a solid run at second, but struggled on the back nine to finish a respectable third at 870 (+30). No. 8 Florida State (874, +34) and defending national champion and top-ranked Stanford (876, +36) round out the top five schools.
Illinois was one of several teams that made it into the top five at one point during the final day of the 54-hole event before finishing in a tie for nine with No. 17 Arizona State at 887 (+47). Junior Larry Blatt was the top Illinois finisher in a tie for 15th at +9 219. Blatt was third at -1 heading into the final round, but shot 80 on Monday.
Illinois senior Mark Ogren (75-73-73) was two strokes back at 221 (T-21+11) followed by junior Jon Krick (T-28, 222 +12), freshman Scott Langley (T-55, 234, +24) and Matt Hoffman (57, 235, + 25).
"I'm disappointed but not discouraged," Small said of his team's performance. "We had a lot of good play, but just had trouble finishing it off again. If we play well in the last nine holes this week, we are probably in the top five. I am encouraged about the potential of this group and it showed at times this weekend. If we evaluate our games correctly and evaluate our deficiencies correctly, we'll be fine."
As far the as tournament itself is concerned, he, Illinois, and Olympia Fields, have built a national caliber tournament in just two short years and anticipate it to grown even bigger.
"The event is run like a first-class event by the members here," Small said. "It means a lot to the University of Illinois to be associated with Olympia Fields and I know it means a lot to Olympia Fields to put on such a great event. The two have come together great."
Illinois travels to Illinois State University to play in the D.A. Weibring Intercollegiate next weekend.
