ATLANTA – Fighting Illini men's golf concluded the stroke play portion of the East Lake Cup on Monday, and will face Texas in the semifinal round of match play on Tuesday. As a team, Illinois shot even par to earn the No. 3 seed heading into match play. Junior Nick Hardy led the Illini as he shot 4-under par to tie for second individually.  Texas' Scottie Scheffler won the individual title with a score 6-under par.
"Today was a good day to continue to see how our team will play on this stage," head coach Mike Small said. "I was very encouraged in a lot of ways. We had it rolling early and were playing pretty solid through about seven or eight holes. We didn't finish the way we wanted to, but to shoot even par on this golf course with a young team is good."
The No. 3-seeded Illini and the No. 2-seeded Longhorns will tee off beginning at 10:15 a.m. CT, and live coverage will air on the Golf Channel beginning at 2 p.m. CT. Vanderbilt earned the No. 1 seed and will face No. 4 Oregon beginning at 11:55 a.m. CT.
"Now, it puts us in a great match tomorrow against Texas, who has been one of the top powers in collegiate golf for a long time," Small said. "I'm excited to see our team play in match play for the first time all year. I'm looking at this not only as an opportunity to win a tournament, but also as an opportunity to get some experience and see how our guys do. It's a luxury to have young players that you believe in and solid veterans that you feel confident you can put anywhere in the lineup."
Hardy started his round strong for the Illini on Monday, making birdie on the first hole. He added two more birdies to make the turn at 3-under par. Hardy birdied consecutive holes on the back nine, but a bogey on the 16th hole gave him a total score 4-under. Â
Freshman Michael Feagles also had a strong round for the Illini, earning a fifth place individual finish. Feagles birdied four of his first six holes before making bogey on the ninth hole to sit 3-under par. He shot 1-over par on the back nine for a total score 2-under par.
Freshman Bryan Baumgarten and sophomore Edoardo Lipparelli each shot 3-over par on the day to tie for 12th individually. Junior Dylan Meyer finished the day 5-over par.
Held at East Lake Golf Club, the East Lake Cup is a three-day event that welcomes four of the top men's and women's collegiate golf teams. The tournament opened with an individual stroke play competition to determine the individual champion, and will continue with match play semifinals on Tuesday, Nov. 1. The finals and consolation matches will follow on Wednesday, Nov. 2.
Live tournament coverage of the East Lake Cup will air on Golf Channel from 2-5 p.m. CT each day and will replay in primetime (6-9 p.m. CT). In addition, Golf Central and Morning Drive will be live and on-site at East Lake, surrounding live tournament coverage with pre- and post-event news coverage. News and tournament coverage will be streamed live on Golf Live Extra. Complete information on the East Lake Cup can be found on the tournament website here.
