June 3, 2011

Stillwater, Okla. -
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Detailed Match Play Results

The most successful season for Illinois golf in two generations came to an end on Friday afternoon in Stillwater, Okla. The fourth-seeded Illini, playing in their first match play round under this current NCAA format, were upended by fifth-seeded Georgia, 3.5-1.5, in the NCAA Championship quarterfinal round.

Illinois got a victory from freshman Thomas Pieters at No. 4, while senior Chris DeForest halved his match at No. 3, but Georgia players won the other three to advance to the semifinals to meet eighth-seeded Duke, a 3.5-1.5 victor over top-seeded UCLA.

"We competed hard," Illinois head coach Mike Small said. "Georgia played well, but we just didn't hit it straight enough today. We gave some holes away early and were playing catch up most of the day."

Despite dropping two of the first three holes, Pieters battled back to wins holes five, seven and eight and held off Georgia's T.J. Mitchell for a 2 up victory. This came on the heels of a 20th-place finish in the 54-hole, 156-man stroke play portion of the championship. Pieters tied for the best round of the day on Thursday with a career-best two-under par 70 despite windy conditions and equaled that total in Friday's match.

"Thomas was really impressive the past couple of days," Small said. "He is showing some maturity late in the season and has a bright future ahead of him."

Senior Chris DeForest had the most impressive run of the day for the Illini. Trailing by three just eight holes into the event, DeForest drove the ball long and converted three straight birdie putts and claimed four consecutive holes overall to take a one hole lead over Georgia's Hudson Swafford. After Swafford knotted the score, DeForest birdied 16 to take a one up lead before Swafford birdied 18 to halve the match.

"Chris is just a fighter and he proved it today," Small said.

Sophomore Mason Jacobs took two of the first three holes from Bryden MacPherson at No. 5, and struggled midway through the match before making a late charge. Jacobs birdied the par-three 15th to get back in it, but MacPherson closed out the match with a par on 17.

Illinois senior Scott Langley had a two-hole advantage on Russell Henley through five holes at the No. 2 spot, but Henley came back to win three of the next four and never looked back for a 4&2 victory. All-American Luke Guthrie, meanwhile, never led his match with Harris English at No. 1 with English winning what turned out to be the clincher, 3&2.

To demonstrate just how fleeting match play can be, three of the four lower seeds were victorious in the quarterfinals - Duke, Georgia and seventh-seeded Augusta State, who needed extra holes to down No. 2 Georgia Tech, 3-2. Only third-seeded Oklahoma State, playing on its home course, claimed a win over a lower seed, downing sixth-seeded Ohio State, 3.5-1.5.

While the loss certainly stung for the Illini, it can't diminish the success that Illinois has had this season and in the last four years. In that span, Illinois has reached No. 1 in the rankings, been a consistent top-10 team in both the computer and the coaches' poll, won an astounding 21 tournaments, claimed the last three Big Ten Championships, reached four straight NCAA Championships and this season provided the program with its best NCAA finish since 1941, a tie for fifth.

"These guys are awesome," Small said of his senior class, fighting back tears. "The stuff they've done has been impressive. You'd be hard pressed to find any senior class in any sport that has had the impact that they have had on our program. They're just the best."

While there will certainly be plenty of time for reflection, Small and the Illini players begin a busy summer schedule in a few days. Small, DeForest, Guthrie, Jacobs and Langley will play U.S. Open Sectional qualifiers on Monday with Small playing the PGA St. Jude Classic next weekend. Pieters, meanwhile has the British Amateur, which has an exemption to the Master's to the winner, later this month. DeForest is turning professional while Langley will remain an amateur for another summer, hoping to secure a coveted spot on the Walker Cup team in September.