April 6, 2014

Team Scores | Individual Scores

AUGUSTA, Ga. - The eighth-ranked Fighting Illini fired a 5-under par 283, equaling the second-best round of the day, but two of the three teams that started the day ahead of them had equal or better rounds, and Illinois finished fourth at the 3M Augusta Invitational hosted by the Augusta Golf Association at the par-72, 7,028-yard Forest Hills Golf Club.

Sophomore Thomas Detry carded a 3-under-par 69 to finish 8-under for the tournament and tie for fourth place, his fourth top-five finish in eight stroke-play events this season.

"It was a good, solid day," Illini head coach Mike Small said. "When you don't count somebody over par in the last round, that's good. Thomas Detry played a great tournament. He drove it well and played really solid. If a few more putts would've fallen, he could've had a chance to win. It was a very strong tournament from him.

"We got off to a bad start on some of the harder holes early in the round, but we showed a lot of resiliency by not letting it snowball. We battled back and it feels good to finish the tournament strong, but we were just too far behind those other teams to really make a move. But to finish fourth in this tournament with the field that was here is a solid showing."

In addition to Detry's 69, junior Brian Campbell and sophomore David Kim each fired 71s and sophomore Charlie Danielson posted an even-par 72. Danielson finished tied for 12th at -2 overall, the only other Illini to record a top-25 finish.

The Illini posted a strong late charge, with their four counting scores combining to play the last five holes at 6-under-par. Campbell made a nice recovery late in his round, turning a 1-over-par into a 1-under 71 with three birdies and a bogey on his last five holes. Kim posted a pair of birdies in his final four holes, while Detry and Danielson each had one birdie in their last four holes.

Detry played a bogey-free round on the day, posting birdies on Nos. 2, 6 and 17, for his third round under par on the weekend and 13th this season. Kim started slowly, making bogeys on Nos. 1 and 3, before he recovered with birdies at the par-3 4th and par-5 6th holes to make the turn at even par. He bogeyed No. 10 but rolled in birdies at Nos. 15 and 17 to go 1-under on the day.

Campbell's round may have been the linchpin for the Illini's solid day, as he recovered from three bogeys on his first four holes to finish 1-under. He got two strokes back with birdies at the par-5 6th and par-4 8th, turning at +1. A bogey at the par-4 10th set him back, but he quickly regained that stroke with a birdie at 11. After a pair of pars, he birdied Nos. 14 and 15 to get to -1. A bogey at the par-3 16th put him back to even, but he birdied the par-5 17th and parred No. 18 to finish with a 71.

Danielson looked to be off to a good start with a birdie on No. 1, but a double-bogey at the par-4 3rd left him at +1 at the turn. He got to even with a birdie at the par-5 11th but sank back above par after a bogey on No. 12. He found a birdie on the par-4 15th, though, to notch his second 72 of the weekend and record his fifth top-15 finish this season.

The Illini have next week off before traveling to West Lafayette, Ind., for the Boilermaker Invitational April 19-20.