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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Sophomore Michael Feagles and senior Nick Hardy led 12th-ranked Illinois on Tuesday in the second round of play at the NCAA Columbus Regional as the two are tied for the top spot on the individual leaderboard. Hardy carded a second-round tally of 3-under par (68) to climb into the lead position, and Feagles closed the day at even par after an opening-round 68 on Monday. Four Illini closed the day among the top 10 individuals.
Illinois shot 6-under par as a team on Tuesday to sit in second overall, and concluded its round prior to the afternoon's weather delays. Inclement weather in the area caused the second round to be suspended prior to the conclusion of play. Four teams and the individual players will finish the rounds at 6 a.m. CT tomorrow, and the final round of play will begin with tee times at 6:30 a.m. CT. Top-ranked Oklahoma State (-9) currently leads the field, while UNLV (+7) rounds out the top three. Northwestern (+15) and Texas Tech (+17) are also among the top five teams at The Ohio State University Golf Club.
"Coach Barlow and I were commenting during the round, that the team had a good look and good purpose to them today," head coach Mike Small said. "It was a solid day from start to finish, a purposeful day. We did what we needed to do today, but it starts all over again tomorrow. It's important to our program to close out tournaments, and that's what we're looking to do."
After opening the tournament at even par, Hardy continued his consistent play on Tuesday morning. He shot even par on the front nine, before posting three birdies after the turn. Hardy was bogey-free on the day, and is 3-under par through two-rounds. Feagles maintained his top spot on Tuesday, using two birdies to negate two bogeys for the day. He is also 3-under par in total. Oklahoma State's Matthew Wolff and Zach Bauchou are also tied for first place with Hardy and Feagles.
After a first-round tally at even par, senior Dylan Meyer carded a 1-under par 70 on Tuesday. He shot even on the front nine before tallying three birdies on the back nine to negate late bogeys on the day. Meyer is tied for seventh with a total score 1-under par.
Sophomore Bryan Baumgarten also sits among the top 10 individuals after two rounds of play as he is tied for 10th overall. Baumgarten shot 2-under par on Tuesday, recording five birdies in the round. He is 1-over par in total.
Sophomore Giovanni Tadiotto shot 5-over par on Tuesday for a total tally 9-over par. He is tied for 40th individually.
THE FIELD
Illinois earned the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Columbus Regional field and is joined by 12 other teams at the tournament including No. 1 Oklahoma State, No. 13 Texas Tech, No. 24 UNLV, No. 25 Wake Forest, No. 35 Northwestern, No. 37 Penn State, No. 48 Tennessee, No. 49 Louisville, Jacksonville, Michigan State, Yale and Cleveland.
THE TOURNAMENT
The Illini will play one round of 18 holes each day at The Ohio State University's 7,455-yard, Par 72 Scarlet Course. Wednesday's Illini tee times will begin at 6:30 a.m. CT.
The low five teams and low individual not on a qualifying team from each of the six NCAA regional sites will advance to compete at the NCAA Championship at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Oklahoma, May 25-30.
FOLLOW ALONG
Live scoring for the event will be available on Golfstat, and a recap will be posted on FightingIllini.com following the event.
