May 2, 2009
State College, Pa. - >
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Saturday is commonly known as "Moving Day" in the world of golf, one that separates the pack. Illinois, which entered play one stroke out of the lead, made its move and ended the third round with a seven-stroke lead heading into Sunday's final 18 holes.
Illinois shot even par 284 as a team and is at +12 overall, seven strokes in front of second-place Ohio State (+19) and eight in front of third-place Iowa (+20). The three teams will be paired in the final five groups on Sunday beginning at 7:50 am CDT at Penn State University's Blue Course.
Illini players combined to make 12 birdies and one eagle in the round, which began with the top five teams separated by just three shots. That's the way the first half of the round began. Minnesota, playing with OSU and Illinois, darted to a three shot lead at +11 and about eight holes into the round led the field with Iowa at +13 with Illinois and Ohio State one stroke back at +14.
The "Amen Corner" for Illinois came at the turn. In a matter of five minutes, sophomore Chris DeForest birdied nine and freshman Luke Guthrie holed a 15-footer from the fringe for eagle on nine, and Illinois never trailed the rest of the day. Illinois played that par five at five-under par for the day.
Sophomore Scott Langley, who had just one birdie in the first two rounds Friday, strung together four birdies between six and 11. Junior Matt Hoffman, who entered the day tied for third, birdied the par-five ninth, and the par fours 11th and 13th to move to -3 and one stroke out of the lead individually.
"We made more birdies today than we did all tournament and grinded it out from there," said Illinois head coach Mike Small. "It was a total team effort, much that way it has been all season long."
The Illini reached as low as seven-under par as team, five under for their round, good for an 11-shot lead. The Blue Course, however, is most challenging in the closing five holes starting with the par three 14 where the green sits between bunkers on the right and back and water on the left. The Illini played those final holes at +5 to finish at even par for the day.
Hoffman is tied for second individually at even par overall after a round of 72. Northwestern freshman Eric Chun maintained the advantage at -4 for the tournament after an even par round of 71. Wisconsin's Dan Woltman and Penn State's Kevin Foley, who tied for the title at the Boilermaker Invitational two weeks ago, joins Hoffman at even par for the tournament after rounds of 72 and 70, respectively. Hoffman's 13 birdies lead all competitors this weekend.
DeForest played bogey-free golf for the first 17 holes and fired the second-best round of the day with a 69. He moved up nine spots into a tie for sixth individually at +2. Guthrie and Langley also made a charge up the leader board. Guthrie moved from 20th into a tie for 13th at +6 after his second 72 round of the tournament. Langley shot even par 71 to move from 30th into a tie for 16th. Junior Zach Barlow is 47th at +14 after a round of 77.
Purdue's Tyler Duncan had the best round of the day with a 68 as the Boilermakers moved from 11th into a three-way for fourth at +21, joining Minnesota and Northwestern. First round leader, Indiana, is in seventh at +23.
Illinois will be looking for its first Big Ten title since 1988 when it tees off tomorrow.
"The key tomorrow is to continue that workmanlike attitude," Small said. "We can't make a big deal over where we are in the standings. We like our position, but we just have to go out tomorrow with that same approach and not put too much pressure on ourselves."
