March 29, 2009
Delray Beach, Fla. -
Team Results in PDF Format
Individual results in PDF Format 
Illinois completed a wire-to-wire victory at the FAU Spring Break Invitational on Sunday. The Illini scored a six-under par 278 to finish at five-under par 847, a 14-stroke victory over second-place Michigan. Sophomore Scott Langley led the efforts with three straight under par rounds to claim the individual title. Langley fired a one-under par 70 to finish at eight-under par 205, scoring a two-stroke victory over Jonathan Bowers of Northwestern.
"We played real steady and made a few more putts than we did yesterday," said Illinois head coach Mike Small. "We knew Michigan was a good team, so if we came out sluggish we would get beat. We got a couple of breaks early and picked it up from there."
" On Friday I had really one of those stress-free days you hope to get once in while," Langley said of his first round 65. "The last two days I didn't make as many putts, but my ball striking was solid."
The victory was Illinois' fourth of the season and all have been by large margins. Illinois won the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational by 11 strokes and the D.A. Weibring by 18 strokes. Although the margin at the Windon Memorial was only five strokes over second place Indiana, it was 22 strokes ahead of third place. The 54-hole total this weekend was the eighth best in school history. Three of the top eight have come this season.
Illinois had three players in the top eight in the tournament. Sophomore Chris DeForest had the most consistent rounds with a 71, 72 and a 69 over the 6,772 par 71 Gleneagles Country Club. DeForest finished in a tie for fourth at one under par.
Freshman Luke Guthrie finished in a tie for eighth at even par after a final round 71. The Illini had three players score rounds under par on Sunday and another at even par. Junior Zach Barlow had a bogey-free round en route to a three-under par 68. Barlow finished in a tie for 22nd at +6. Fellow junior Matt Hoffman finished in a tie for 33rd at +9 following a final round 73.
Both Illini freshmen were impressive again. Not only did Guthrie complete a top-ten finish, but fellow first-year player Mason Jacobs completed a second straight strong weekend, tying for 14th at +5 after a 73 on Sunday. Junior Clayton Parkhill rounds out Illinois' competitors at +14 in a tie for 60th after firing a 72 on the tournament's final day.
"We had great contribution from everyone and posted some low scores across the board," Small said. "We're back to where we were in the fall where we played good solid golf and made a habit of shooting low scores."
The 14-team field featured six Big Ten teams. Following Michigan, Northwestern finished fourth at +19; Ohio State was in fifth at +21; Wisconsin sixth at +26; and Iowa eighth at +32. Eastern Michigan rounded out the top-five teams in third at +12.
"It feels great to win a tournament again," Langley said of the team's performance. "We got some confidence back. Hopefully we can take that into the rest of the season."
Illinois travels to Marshall next weekend where the Illini are the three-time defending champion.
