University of Illinois
3M Augusta Invitational
@IlliniMGolf Takes Home 3M Augusta Invitational Trophy
April 3, 2016 | Men's Golf
The Illini fire a season-low score 27-under par to win their third event title of the spring.
Team Results | Individual Results | Combined Results
Augusta, Ga. - Fighting Illini men's golf earned its third tournament title of the spring season on Sunday, April 3, capturing the trophy at the 3M Augusta Invitational. The Illini fired a 12-under par third round team total to top No. 1-ranked Texas by three strokes. Illinois' 27-under par tournament tally also marks a season low. It was a true team effort through the final round as four Illini finished among the top-20 individually, led by senior Charlie Danielson who finished just two strokes out of the individual tournament lead.
"It was a solid day from the start," head coach Mike Small said. "The key to today was to get off to a good start on some of the tougher early holes. It was a total team effort, and to go out and shoot 12-under par in the last round is good golf. It was great to see Nick Hardy get out there and shoot 4-under par today as well. This is one of the country's premier events, it's a historic tournament, so it's nice to get our name on that trophy. Today we played solid golf and that's how you win championships."
Danielson fired a season low 9-under par (207) tally through three rounds to lead the Illini, shooting 4-under par in the final round of play. He quickly negated an early bogey in the round, and went on to record five birdies in total.
Just one stroke back from Danielson, senior Thomas Detry also played strongly in the final round, shooting 3-under par for the day. He carded five birdies overall, helping to negate two bogeys in the round. He started and finished on a high note for the Illini, birdieing his first and last holes of the day. Detry tied for fourth indvidually.
The Illini sophomores also stayed close during the round, as both Dylan Meyer and Nick Hardy tied for 16th individually. The two finished 2-under par ifor the tournament.
With a third round tally 4-under par, Hardy recorded his best performance of the event on the final day. He shot even on the front nine for the Orange and Blue, before picking up speed on the back nine. He finished strongly with four birdies after making the turn. His 4-under par 68 in the final round marks a season low for the sophomore.
Meyer started the day with two birdies on his front nine, which helped to negate a late bogey. He finished 1-under par for the day.
Freshman Edoardo Lipparelli closed his first spring lineup appearance out strongly, earning a top-45 finish. He shot 2-over par in the final round for a total tally just 5-over par. Lipparelli was 2-over par heading into the back nine, and continued on to birdie two holes after making the turn.
The 3M Augusta Invitational was held at Forest Hills Golf Club on its 6,248-yard, Par 72 course, and featured some of the nation's strongest teams. The field included No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Illinois. No. 3 Georgia, No. 13 South Florida, No. 35 Pepperdine, No. 37 Houston, No. 38 New Mexico, No. 41 Augusta, No. 45 Tennessee, Central Florida, Coastal Carolina, Kennesaw State, Presbyterian, USC Aiken and Virginia Tech.
Next up, Illinois will stay close to home for the Boilermaker Invitational in Lafayette, Ind. Hosted by Purdue University, the tournament will take place April 16-17. Stay tuned to FIGHTINGILLINI.com for all the latest on Illinois men's golf.
