Oct. 26, 2009
Windermere, Fla. -
Team Scores in PDF Format 
Individual scores in PDF Format
No. 6 Illinois improved by nine strokes in the second round of the prestigious Isleworth Collegiate Invitational. The Illini shot nine-over par 297 to move from 10th to a three-way tie for eighth at the 15-team event that includes five of the top six teams in the country.
Illinois sits at +27 (603) for the tournament, tied with No. 13 South Carolina and just two strokes behind two-time defending Isleworth champion and 19th-ranked Georgia. Top-ranked Oklahoma State moved in position to win after finishing runners-up at Isleworth in both 2004 and 2005. The Cowboys are at +4 followed by Florida (+8), Stanford (+13), Alabama (+16) and TCU (+20).
The Illini made a big push in the opening holes, sitting at four-under par for the round through 11 holes, but dropped back a bit down the stretch.
"We had better day today, but had a chance to really have a good day," Illinois head coach Mike Small said. "We learned we can played this course, now we need to do it for 18 holes tomorrow. Today was encouraging. At the same time we have been a good finishing team, but unfortunately it didn't happened today."
Individually, junior Chris DeForest and senior Zach Barlow recovered with solid rounds. DeForest shot a 71 on the 7,481-yard par 72 course, posting six birdies. Barlow, meanwhile, shot 73 with four birdies. Both men shot rounds in the 80s on Sunday.
"I was really proud of DeForest and Barlow's turnaround," Small said. "They had short memories and were determined not to have another day like yesterday."
Sophomore Luke Guthrie finished the day in a tie for 24th individually after a round of 76. Junior Scott Langley shot 77 and at +7 is tied for 23rd in the 75-man field. DeForest is two strokes back in a tie for 39th at +9 with Barlow at +10 and senior Matt Hoffman at +11 after matching Langley's 77.
The third and final round tees off at 8 a.m. EDT on Tuesday.
