Final Results | Photo Gallery | NCAA Championships CentralÂ
COLUMBUS, Ohio – No. 11 Fighting Illini men's golf will make its 11th consecutive appearance at the NCAA Championships May 25-30 following a second-place finish at the NCAA Columbus Regional on Wednesday. The Illini shot 6-over par in the final round of play to finish the tournament at even par overall. Four Illini finished among the top 10 individuals, led by senior Nick Hardy who tied for fourth overall with a total score 2-under par.
No. 1-ranked Oklahoma State took the regional title with a total score 8-under par. UNLV (+15), Northwestern (+16) and Texas Tech (+18) will also advance to the NCAA Championships out of the Columbus Regional. Â
"It was a job well done," head coach Mike Small said. "We came here to qualify for nationals and that's what we did. We did it pretty comfortably all week, but we would've like to have pulled out a win. That was important to us to try to do that. We were in position with nine holes left to play and we just didn't close it out. We have to look past that and see that it was a successful week. I think it is a credit to our players and to the mindset of the program that they were disappointed today. Even though we came here to qualify for the national championship, our team competes to win. We are excited to advance and move forward, but I credit our players for their winning mindset."
Hardy shot even par on his front nine holes on a wet, drizzly morning in Columbus. He posted two birdies before the turn, which negated early bogeys on the day. He added another birdie on the back nine, before closing the day with a score 1-over par.
Sophomore Bryan Baumgarten fired a 1-under par final round score on Wednesday, closing play in ninth place overall. He used three birdies before the turn to negate consecutive bogeys on his first two holes. Baumgarten shot even par on the back nine, and closed the tournament with a total score at even par.
Senior Dylan Meyer and sophomore Michael Feagles closed the tournament at 1-over par to tie for 10th individually. Meyer shot 2-over par on Wednesday and closed play strongly with consecutive birdies on the 16th and 17th holes. Feagles closed the day on Wednesday with a score 4-over par.
Sophomore Giovanni Tadiotto tied for 48th individually with a total score 14-over par. He closed the final round at 5-over par.
The NCAA Championships are slated for May 25-30 at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The tournament consists of three days of stroke play May 25-27 (54 holes), after which the top 15 teams and nine individuals not on an advancing team will be determined. That is followed by a final day of 18 holes of stroke play May 28 to determine the top eight teams that will advance to match play as well as the 72-hole individual champion.Â
The team national champion will be determined by an eight-team match-play tournament May 29-30. Quarterfinals and semifinals are scheduled for May 29, followed by the finals May 30.
The NCAA Championships will air live on the Golf Channel, beginning Monday, May 28 to crown the individual national champion, as well as to track the teams attempting to qualify for the eight-team match-play tournament. Golf Channel's coverage also will include all three rounds of the team match-play tournament.
Fans wishing to attend the NCAA Golf Championships can click here for ticket and lodging information.Â
Stay tuned to FightingIllini.com for the latest on Illinois men's golf.
