Fighting Illini senior Dylan Meyer is set to compete in the 2018 Valspar Championship this week, making his second appearance in a PGA TOUR event. Meyer earned an exemption into the tournament field last year with a first-place individual finish at the 2017 3M Augusta Invitational.
"This is a great opportunity for Dylan to play in a PGA TOUR event, an exemption that he earned through playing college golf," Illini head coach Mike Small said. "We'll miss him while he's gone but the experience will be beneficial heading into the postseason."
"I think that this a great opportunity to help me gauge my game against the best in the world, and it helps me build momentum into this season by competing at such a high level," Meyer said of the opportunity to appear in the PGA TOUR event. "This is a great way to prepare for the Big Ten Championships and the national championship and I'm happy I get to be in the position I am in. Being in an event with Tiger (Woods) has been a dream of mine, so this is extra special since he has committed to play."
Meyer made his first PGA TOUR appearance at the 2017 John Deere Classic, and also played on the Web.com Tour's Lincoln Land Charity Championship.
The 2018 Valspar Championship will take place March 8-11 in Palm Harbor, Florida on the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort. Meyer will tee off at 12:41 p.m. CT Thursday and at 7:51 a.m. on Friday in a group with Aaron Wise (Oregon) and Xinjun Zhang. Illini alumni Steve Stricker (7:07 a.m. | 11:57 a.m.) and D.A. Points (6:45 a.m. | 11:35 a.m.) will also appear in the tournament field.
