Round 2 Results | Live Scoring 

CARMEL, Ind. –  Fighting Illini men's golf opened play at the Crooked Stick Invitational on Monday, playing 36 holes on the Par 72, 7,290-yard course at Crooked Stick Golf Club. The Illini were led by senior Nick Hardy, who is tied for 10th heading into the final round with a total score 1-under par. Hardy is also joined among the top-25 individuals by sophomores Michael Feagles and Giovanni Tadiotto (+2) who are tied for 21st. As a team, Illinois shot 1-over par through two rounds and is tied for fifth with Big Ten foe, Michigan State.

Purdue leads the tournament field at 8-under par through two rounds, while Georgia (-3) and Kentucky (-2) round out the top three teams. North Florida sits in fourth with a total score 1-under par.  

"As we've seen most of the year, we had spurts of really good play," head coach Mike Small said. "But we need to eliminate the bad stretches, and the ones at the end of rounds. Today we fought our way into the lead with three or four holes to go, and then we played sloppy, fearful golf and ended up nine back. As a coach, it's positive to see the good stretches of golf, but it's frustrating to see the mentally weak stretches at the wrong times that really put us out of position at days end."

Hardy played steady through the first round of the day, carding an eagle on the 11th hole to negate an early bogey. He was 1-under par heading into the second round, and picked up momentum from there. Hardy birdied his first hole of the second round and made the turn at 2-under par. He posted his second eagle of the day on the fifth hole, and added two more birdies before the turn. Hardy shot even par in the second round for a total score 1-under par.

Sophomore Giovanni Tadiotto also picked up momentum for the Illini throughout the day. He shot 4-over par for the first round of the day, but used a 2-under par second-round performance to close the day with a total score 2-over par. Tied for 21st individually, Tadiotto posted seven birdies in the second round.

Sophomore Michael Feagles is also tied for 21st overall with a two-round tally 2-over par. Feagles shot even par through the first round, also adding an eagle to Illinois' scorecard. In the second round, Feagles used three birdies on the front nine to make the turn at even par. He added two more birdies on the back nine, and finished the day at 2-over par.  

Senior Dylan Meyer also picked up momentum during the second round of the day. He recorded four consecutive birdies in the second round on his way to a 4-under par score. Meyer is 4-over par in total, after an 8-over par first round finish.

Sophomore Bryan Baumgarten is tied with Meyer for 34th individually, also closing the day at 4-over par. Baumgarten opened with a 6-over par first-round score, but also picked up the pace during the second round. He used six birdies, including a stretch of three straight, to shoot 2-under par for the round.

Playing as an individual, freshman Brendan O'Reilly joins Feagles and Tadiotto in a tie for 21st overall. O'Reilly opened the day at even par, recording a birdie on his first hole of the day. He added four more in the second round, helping to negate a few early bogeys. He is 2-over par in total, heading into tomorrow's final round.

Tomorrow's final round at Crooked Stick Golf Club (Par 72, 7,290-yards) will begin with Illini tee times starting at 8 a.m. CT off of the first hole. Live scoring for the tournament will be available on Golfstat and a recap will be posted at the conclusion of play.

The Illini are joined by 11 other teams in the tournament field including Ball State, Georgia, Indiana, IUPUI, Kentucky, Michigan State, North Florida, Purdue, South Carolina, Toledo and Xavier.

Stay tuned to FightingIllini.com for the latest on Illinois men's golf.