April 21, 2013

Final Results

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Illinois led near the turn of Sunday's final round of the Boilermaker Invitational at the par-72, 7,465-yard Kampen Course, but stumbled down the stretch and finished third, two shots back of co-champions Louisville and Iowa. The Illini shot a final-round 297 (+9), the fifth-best score of the day, and junior Thomas Pieters finished fourth at even par for the tournament after a final-round 73. Iowa's Steven Ihm and Louisville's Robin Sciot-Siegrist shared medalist honors at -5 after Ihm carded a 2-under-par 70 and Sciot-Siegrist registered a 69 on Sunday.

"We got off to a slow start then played some really solid golf in the middle of the round, which was encouraging," Illinois head coach Mike Small said. "But then one hole got us, and we didn't play with the confidence and command that we need to. To lose by two shots and make the mistakes that we did was disappointing, but it was good to show some positive signs like we did for most of the two days this weekend."

That hole that sunk the Illini was No. 17, where Illinois counted a par, a bogey, a double-bogey and a triple-bogey to go +6 at that hole, while Iowa and Louisville were each +1 on No. 17. Still, under chilly conditions, the Illini played well overall, with sophomore Brian Campbell leading the way with an even-par 72, and both sophomore Alex Burge and freshman Thomas Detry carding 76s to complement Pieters' 1-over-par 73.

Burge finished tied for 19th at +5, Detry tied for 35th at +10, Campbell landed in a tie for 37th at +11 and senior Mason Jacobs tied for 41st at +12.

The Illini return to the state of Indiana next weekend to vie for their fifth-straight Big Ten Championship at the 2013 Big Ten Championships. The tournament will be held at the award-winning Pete Dye Course in French Lick, where Illinois won the 2012 Big Ten Championships.