Final Results
SAN ANTONIO – Fighting Illini men's golf shot 9-under par through Tuesday's final round at the Lone Star Invitational, finishing in second place with a team score 36-under par. Junior Dylan Meyer tied for second place, using a 5-under par third round tally to finish at 14-under par. Freshman Michael Feagles and junior Nick Hardy joined Meyer among the top 10 individuals in the tournament field. Oklahoma took home the team title with a total score 40-under par, and the Illini finished ahead of Mississippi State, who closed play at 27-under par.
As a team, Illinois went 272-277-279 = 828 at the Lone Star Invitational. The 36-under par 828 marks the second-lowest 54-hole team score in Illinois history.
"The conditions were there for scoring," head coach Mike Small said. "We talked before the round, we went in with an eight-shot lead, but on this golf course, we had to continue to play hard. We played solid today, but Oklahoma just tore the course apart. We have to commend them on their effort today. You can't play defense in golf, we just didn't bring enough offense. We shot some low scores, but we need to do a better job of bringing a total team effort. That is something that we're going to concentrate on, having all five guys bring it more consistently."
Meyer quickly established himself among the top of the tournament field with a career-low 65 in Monday's opening round. He maintained his second-place position on Tuesday, posting consecutive birdies in his first three holes. He added another birdie before making the turn, and continued on to record three-straight birdies on the back nine. A late bogey gave him a 5-under par final round tally. Meyer's 202 total score marks a career-low for the junior, and it is tied for the third-lowest individual 54-hole score in Illinois history.
Tied for fourth individually, Feagles earned his highest individual finish of the season with a career-low 206. The freshman matched his career-low 18-hole score (66) in the opening round, and posted a 5-under 67 in the second round of play. Feagles carded two birdies on Tuesday, negating two early bogeys in the final round, and he closed the day 1-over par for a total tournament tally 10-under par.
Junior Nick Hardy tied for sixth individually, earning his seventh top-10 finish of the year. Hardy closed the tournament at 7-under par, finishing play with a 3-under par final round score. He opened the day with a birdie on his second hole and added two more on the front nine. Hardy carded three more birdies on the back nine, including consecutive birdies on the 13th and 14th holes. His 54-hole 209 score also marks a career-low for the junior.Â
Sophomore Edoardo Lipparelli earned his fourth top 15 finish of the season with a total score 4-under par. Lipparelli used four birdies on the front nine to negate a few bogeys before the turn, but he continued on to record three consecutive birdies on the back nine holes on Tuesday. After a late bogey, Lipparelli shot 2-under through the final round to tie for 15th.
Freshman Bryan Baumgarten closed the final round at 6-over par for a total tally 13-over par. He tied for 72nd overall.
Playing as an individual, freshman Giovanni Tadiotto tied for 41st at the Lone Star Invitational, closing the tournament at 1-over par. Tadiotto carded three birdies in the final round for a 2-over par third-round score.
The No. 6-ranked Illini were joined by No. 11 Oklahoma, No. 49 New Mexico, Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Little Rock, Louisiana-Lafayette, McNeese State, Mississippi State, New Mexico State, Rice, Southeastern Louisiana, Texas State, UTEP and host UTSA at the Lone Star Invitational.
Next up, Illinois will prepare for the 3M Augusta Invitational, held April 1-2 at Forest Hills Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. Stay tuned to FightingIllini.com for the latest on Illinois men's golf.
