May 1, 2010

Independence, Minn. -
Complete Results in PDF Format
Round 4 Tee Times in PDF Format
Big Ten Championship Round 3 Photo Gallery

There are many days in the Midwest where the wind is a big factor on the golf course, but there aren't many as bizarre as what greeted the players at the Big Ten Championship third round. Winds at 20-30 miles per hour with gusts close to 40 lasted the entire round and played havoc with the scores at Windsong Farm Golf Club. In the end, Illinois survived the conditions with a monumental flurry down the stretch to maintain a 12-shot lead heading in Sunday's fourth and final round.

"The conditions were so severe that if you tried to analyze the round, you'd drive yourself crazy," Illinois head coach Mike Small said. "It was some of the strongest sustained winds I've seen in a long time. "

Illinois posted two rounds of three under par Friday, giving the Illini a 12-stroke lead heading into Saturday. The lead dipped to as low as 6-8 strokes, but the home hole helped give Illinois the same cushion over hard-charging Michigan. On the surface, Illinois' 16-over par 300 round doesn't sound that impressive, but it was actually the second-best team score of the day next to Michigan's 294.

Illinois leads the tournament at +10. The Wolverines, paced by an unbelievable three-under par 68 round from Matt Thompson, were in the clubhouse at +22 overall and put the pressure on Illinois to finish strong. The Illini did just that, playing the final three holes at -4 and posting two eagles and two birdies on the 571-yard par five 18th.

The run began with Matt Hoffman, whose eagle gave him a one-under par back nine and a four-over par 75 for the day after a slow start. The senior moved from 30th to a tie for 22nd at +10.

Next came sophomore Luke Guthrie, who played the final three holes at one-under the hard way with a birdie, double bogey and an eagle. Guthrie is tied for seventh at +2, one of three Illini in the top ten entering the final day, following a team-best three-over par 74. Junior All-American Scott Langley played the final seven holes bogey free, finishing with a birdie on 18. Langley sits in a tie for ninth at +4 following his 75. Junior Chris DeForest is tied for 14th at +6 after his birdie on 18 gave him a 76.

Iowa is third in the team chase at +26 followed by Northwestern (+27) and Purdue (+31).

"The conditions got the better of us for awhile, but we regrouped and played the last three holes pretty strong as a team," Small noted. "We didn't get off to the best of starts, but we fought through it and what a finish we had. That gives us a jump-start on tomorrow."

Senior Zach Barlow was the only Illini not to birdie 18, but is still within striking distance of the lead despite a 76 on Saturday. Barlow played the front nine at even par, but ran into trouble down the stretch. Barlow, the second-round leader, will play with Thompson and Iowa's Barrett Kelpin in the final paring of the day on Sunday. That should generate some excitement not only for the team title, but for the individual medalist honors as well. Thompson shares the lead with Northwestern's David Lipsky at -3 with Barlow and Kelpin the only other players under par for the tournament at -1. Lipsky tees off earlier, giving him an opportunity to set the marker in the clubhouse in his effort to provide the Wildcats with the medalist for the second straight year.

"We're going to have to get off to a better start and have to handle around the greens a little better," answered Small of what it's going to take to close out his team's second consecutive conference crown. "In these conditions, you have to control your ball flight, so we have to really concentrate on hitting fairways and greens."