Oct. 27, 2009
Windermere, Fla. -
Team scores in PDF Format 
Individual Scores in PDF Format
Illinois finished ninth out of 15 schools at the prestigious Isleworth Invitational that was completed Tuesday. The Illini shot a third round 298 (+10) to finish at 901 (+3), just five strokes out of fifth in a tournament that featured 12 ranked teams.
Junior Scott Langley and senior Zach Barlow had solid days for Illinois, each posting final round 73s on the 7,481-yard par 72 Isleworth Golf and Country Club course. Langley (74-77-73) improved 13 places to finish in a tie for 20th in the 75-man field at +8. Barlow, meanwhile, shot his second straight 73 to move into a tie for 29th at +11. Barlow sandwiched teammates Luke Guthrie (73-76-77), who tied for 25th at +10 and junior Chris DeForest (82-71-75), who tied for 33rd at +12.
Top-ranked Oklahoma State won the team title at +17 after a final round 301 followed by Florida (+22), Stanford (+24), Georgia (+29) and Alabama (+32). The Crimson Tide's Bud Cauley (-5) posted a one-stroke victory over hard-charging Sihwan Kim (-4) of Stanford. Those were the only two players to shoot under par.
For the second straight day, the Illini had an up-and-down round, but in the end shrugged off a first round 306 to post a pair of scores under 300 on the challenging course. The Illini had a better third-round score than six of the eight teams in front of them, but dug themselves too big of a hole.
"In the long run, this will be a good experience for us, playing many of the southern schools on their turf," said Illinois head coach Mike Small. "We never could really get any consistency going, but we'll learn from this and get ready for Hawaii."
Illinois leaves Friday for the Rainbow State to play in the Turtle Bay Collegiate Invitational on the island of Oahu.
