Final Results | Photos

OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. - No. 6 Illinois posted the best round of the tournament on Sunday, firing a 3-under-par 277, and ran away with an 11-stroke victory over a loaded field at the ninth-annual Olympia Fields Country Club/Fighting Illini Invitational. Freshman Dylan Meyer (Evansville, Indiana) shared medalist honors in his first collegiate event, firing a 1-over-par 71 to finish the tournament +3 overall, tied with Stanford's Maverick McNealy. It marks the second time that the Orange and Blue have won the OFCC/Illini Invitational, also taking the title in 2008, and only the second time an Illini has won medalist honors, as assistant coach Zach Barlow earned the title in 2008.

Illinois' counting scorers played the final nine holes at 7-under on Sunday, a dramatic improvement from their back-nine performance the first two rounds of the tournament (+15). Senior Brian Campbell recorded the tournament's best round, posting a 4-under 66 to vault himself into a tie for eighth place (+7), while junior Charlie Danielson's 67 left him tied for third at +4, just one shot behind Meyer and McNealy. Freshman Nick Hardy finished tied for 12th at +8, while fellow rookie Spencer Reed was tied for 38th at +17. The Illini's final-round team score of 277 was just two strokes off the tournament record of 275 set by Oklahoma State in 2007.

"This is a great way to start the season," Illinois head coach Mike Small said. "It was a strong field, a hard golf course and we played really well. It was a good team win. We didn't finish too well the first two days, but that back nine today was pretty good. And that's important to us. The freshmen were strong all week - I was very happy with them and how they competed. And to have our veterans step up like they did today, that sealed the deal.

"Dylan winning, you can't expect that, but we knew he had it in him. He deserved it. He handled himself well coming down the stretch. He was solid and on point all day. For those other two freshmen to play like they did in their first college event shows they have potential. And we want to thank everyone at Olympia Fields for the incredible job they do hosting this tournament. It is a first-class event from start to finish and we are so appreciative of all the hard work they put into it."

Campbell got the Illini off to a good start with a birdie at the par-5 1st, but he bogeyed No. 3. A birdie at No. 7 put him at -1 on the front side. He really heated up during the middle of the back nine with birdies on Nos. 12, 13 and 15, and added six pars on the back side for a 4-under 66. Danielson also played the front nine at -1 with birdies on Nos. 4 and 5, and a bogey at the par-4 2nd. After a bogey on 10 left him at even, he got it rolling with birdies at 13, 15 and 16 to finish -3 on the day and +4 overall.

Meyer played solid all day, with only a double-bogey at the par-4 9th among 13 pars to start his round. He added a birdie at the par-5 15th and came home with three more pars for his 1-over 71. Meyer finished the tournament with the second-most pars in the field. Hardy recovered from a shaky start that left him +4 at the turn, birdying Nos. 11 and 15 to draw back to +2. But a bogey at the par-4 18th gave him a 73 on the day. Reed also played well, finishing +3 for the round after one birdie, two bogeys and a double-bogey.

The Illini return to action next weekend at the Wolf Run Intercollegiate, where they will aim for their fifth-straight title at the event.

Detry At World Amateur Team Championship
While his teammates were just outside Chicago, Fighting Illini junior Thomas Detry was in Japan representing his native Belgium at the World Amateur Team Championship. Detry posted three solid rounds but a rough third round kept him out of contention on the individual side. He finished -6 overall (68-70-76-66=280) and tied for 51st, while Belgium finished tied for 13th at -24. The United States retained the Eisenhower Trophy with a final score of -38 and Spain's Jon Rahm took the individual title with a final score of -23.