Round 1 Results | Photo Gallery | Live ScoringÂ
BALTIMORE – Fighting Illini men's golf opened play at the 2018 Big Ten Men's Golf Championships on Friday firing a 1-over par team total to sit in second place overall. Three Illini are tied for sixth individually, as seniors Nick Hardy and Dylan Meyer and sophomore Bryan Baumgarten closed the first round at 1-under par.
Ohio State sits atop the leaderboard after a 1-under par opening round, while Penn State (+4) joins Illinois among the top three teams. The Illini will begin second round play at 8:45 a.m. CT tomorrow.
"I thought it was a solid start," head coach Mike Small said. "It wasn't our best as a team, but it wasn't bad either. Bryan, Nick and Dylan put together solid rounds today, and the team is looking forward to coming out tomorrow and getting after it. The first round has come and gone, and our eyes are already set on the second round."
Hardy played steady throughout the round as he closed the day bogey-free. He carded a birdie on the 12th hole to finish 1-under par. Baumgarten also posted a birdie on the 12th hole, adding another on No. 14 to negate an early bogey in the round.
Also finishing the day at 1-under par, Meyer made the turn at 1-over par. He turned up the heat on the back nine, tallying three birdies in a span of four holes.
Sophomores Michael Feagles and Giovanni Tadiotto are tied for 35th individually, as they each closed the day at 4-over par.
THE TOURNAMENT
A three-day, 54-hole tournament, the Big Ten Championships are taking place on the 7,181-yard, Par 70 Five Farms East Course at Baltimore Country Club in Baltimore, Maryland. Teams will play 18 holes each day, with tee times beginning at 8 a.m. CT April 27-28, and at 7 a.m. CT on April 29.
THE FIELD
Illinois leads the way in the Golfstat rankings heading into this week's championship. The Illini are currently ranked No. 13 in the country by Golfstat and are joined among the top-50 by Northwestern (35), Purdue (36) and Penn State (39). Michigan State sits just outside at No. 59, while Ohio State and Iowa come in at Nos. 73 and 74, respectively. Minnesota (77), Michigan (84), Indiana (89), Wisconsin (90) and Maryland (92) all rank among the top 100 as well.
FOLLOW ALONG
Live scoring for the 2018 Big Ten Championships will be available on Golfstat and fans can follow @IlliniMGolf on Twitter for even more live updates. A recap will be posted on FightingIllini.com following each day of play.
