Final Results
LAS VEGAS – Powered by freshman Brendan O'Reilly's season-low 67 (-5), Fighting Illini men's golf posted a final round team score 5-under par on Wednesday at the Southern Highlands Collegiate. As a team, the Orange and Blue finished in a tie for eighth overall with team score 7-over par, while senior Nick Hardy (-2) and sophomore Bryan Baumgarten (-1) earned finishes among the top 11 individuals.
Florida won the tournament with a total score 5-under par, while Texas Tech and USC (-1) tied for the runner up spot. Alabama (+7) joined Illinois in a tie for the No. 8 spot.
"That was a solid way to finish a tournament," head coach Mike Small said. "The last few holes, we closed strong. It was great to see Brendan {O'Reilly} put a full round together and lead the team to a good closing round, and we saw a solid tournament from Nick {Hardy} and Bryan {Baumgarten}."
Hardy played strong on the final day in Las Vegas, posting a 4-under par 68 to climb into the top-10. He shot 1-under par through his first nine holes, negating one early bogey. After making the turn, Hardy added two more birdies to negate a bogey on his 13th hole, before closing the round with consecutive birdies. He tied for seventh overall, marking his fifth finish among the top 10 this season.
Baumgarten earned his second top-15 finish of the year (T-11th) with a 1-under par total score at Southern Highlands Golf Course. The sophomore shot 1-over par on Wednesday, using five birdies on his back nine to negate early bogeys in the day. Like Hardy, Baumgarten closed the round strong, recording a birdie on each of his last three holes.
After an up-and-down front nine on Wednesday, O'Reilly picked up momentum with a birdie on his seventh hole. He was even at the turn, using the birdie and an early eagle to negate three bogeys. He continued on to make five birdies on his back nine, including two on his last three holes. O'Reilly closed the tournament in a tie for 38th with a total score 5-over par.
Sophomores Michael Feagles and Giovanni Tadiotto each shot 3-over par each for the final round. Feagles closed play with a total score 10-over par to tie for 62nd, while Tadiotto shot 11-over par and tied for 66th.
THE TOURNAMENT
The three-day, 54-hole event was held Southern Highlands Golf Club in Las Vegas, Nevada. Southern Highlands Golf Club boasts a Par 72, 7,510-yard course. The 2018 Southern Highlands Collegiate welcomed a strong field of teams including several teams ranked among the top-50 according to Golfstat, including: No. 4 Alabama, No. 5 Florida, No. 8 Oklahoma, No. 10 Texas Tech, No. 14 Illinois, No. 19 USC, No. 21 UCLA, No. 28 Pepperdine, No. 30 BYU, No. 35 UNLV, No. 36 TCU, No. 43 Northwestern, SMU, UCF and Washington.
NEXT UP
The Orange and Blue will have a few weeks off before heading to Palm Desert, California for the Big Horn Invitational. Hosted by Kansas State, the event will take place March 23-24.
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