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Newburgh, Ind. -Freshman Nick Hardy's career performance helped carry the Illini to a 32-stroke lead after three rounds at the 2015 Big Ten Men's Golf Championship. The Illini sit 19-under par through three rounds, and Hardy's career-best 54-hole score of 208 (-8) leads all individuals by two strokes. Should Hardy and the Illini continue their strong performances through tomorrow's round, it will mark Illinois' 13th Big Ten Championship title and the fifth consecutive year that an Illini has won medalist honors. Five of those Big Ten titles have come in the past six seasons. Individually, all five Illini currently place among the top-11 competitors in the tournament.
"This morning we had to come out and finish a couple holes and we didn't have our best, but we started out the third round from strength," head coach Mike Small said of today's performance. "When our first guy, Nick Hardy, goes out and shoots 4-under par in these conditions and on this golf course, that sends a message. Then when you have Brian Campbell go out and get over par with a double-bogey early only to come back and shoot 3-under, the team feeds off that. For those guys to go out first and set the standard and the pace for the rest of the team, that's important."
Hardy began his round with a birdie on the third hole, helping himself to two more on the eighth and ninth holes to finish the front nine 2-under par. He then tallied his third consecutive birdie to start off the back nine on a strong note. Hardy shot 4-under par on the day, taking the lead in the tournament with a total score 8-under par.
Junior Thomas Detry is currently in fourth overall as he started the day with four birdies on the front nine holes. He birdied three-straight to shoot 4-under par before the turn. Detry faced some adversity on the back nine with a triple and a double bogey back-to-back. He recovered with a birdie on hole 17 and shot even on the final hole. However, despite the slight difficulty, Detry remained 1-under par for the round and 4-under through the tournament.
With a score just 1-over par through the tournament, junior Charlie Danielson also sits among the top-10 as he is tied for eighth individually with teammate Brian Campbell. Danielson shot at even par in the third round as he used two birdies to negate two bogeys late in the round. Campbell shot even on the front nine, and he recorded four consecutive birdies to get the back nine off to a strong start. The senior carded a 3-under par score on the back nine, good for a third-round score of 69, which marks his best round at the Big Ten Championships in his career.
Evansville native, freshman Dylan Meyer is currently 2-over par through three rounds, placing him in a tie for 11th individually. Meyer also encountered some diversity in the round as he posted back-to-back bogeys early and again to close play on Saturday. After a 3-over par start to the front nine, Meyer recorded two birdies to finish even on the back nine.
The 2015 Big Ten Men's Golf Championship is hosted by Victoria National Golf Club in Newburgh, Ind., which boasts a Par 72, 7,124-yard course. The final round of the 2015 Big Ten Men's Golf Championship will begin at 8 a.m. on Sunday.
Fans can follow live scoring for the tournament on GolfStat, or follow live updates on the team's Twitter page (@IlliniMGolf). Recaps will be posted on FightingIllini.com following each round.
