Second Round Results
STILLWATER, Okla. – Led by seniors Dylan Meyer and Nick Hardy, the 10th-ranked Fighting Illini men's golf team is holding a 4-over par, two-round total after the second day of play at the NCAA Men's Golf Championships. Meyer fired a 3-under par second-round score to move up the individual leaderboard and into a tie for 13th, while Hardy sits 1-under par and tied for 23rd.
The Illini completed their first round with a score 1-over par on Saturday morning following a suspension of first-round play on Friday due to darkness. The Orange and Blue shot 3-over par as a team in the second round of play. Illini tee times for the third round of play will begin at 7:55 a.m. off of the first tee.
Texas Tech is leading the tournament field with a total score 5-under par, and the Illini are tied with Texas and Auburn in the No. 9 spot. The Orange and Blue are just one stroke back from Oklahoma, Vanderbilt and Kent State who are tied for sixth.
"I thought it was a positive and productive day, seeing as we came out here early to finish the first round and then we continued playing, " head coach Mike Small said. " The way we finished off the morning round was very important and positive. This is a demanding golf course, and I thought our two seniors played it really well. The team played solid at times today, but we still find ways to stop our momentum by hitting shots that we shouldn't be hitting at this time of the year. We need to clean up our play in the next couple of days in order to be competitive against this field."
Meyer posted two birdies to close his first round at even par, and continued on to fire a 3-under par second-round tally. He shot 2-under par on his front nine, carding consecutive birdies on the sixth and seventh holes. He added two more birdies before the turn of the second round, which helped negate two early bogeys.
With a 1-under par total tally, Hardy closed his opening round with a score 1-under par, and shot even through his second round. He finished the day strongly with consecutive birdies on the 17th and 18th holes.
Sophomore Michael Feagles added a birdie for the Illini to start his day and close his first round at even par. He shot 2-over par for the second round of play, and carded Illinois' first eagle of the tournament on the par-five 14th hole.
Sophomore Bryan Baumgarten is 6-over par through two rounds of play, and sophomore Giovanni Tadiotto is 7-over par heading into the third round of play.
FOUR ILLINI NAMED PING ALL-MIDWEST REGION
Four Fighting Illini were honored by the Golf Coaches Association of America on Saturday, seniors Nick Hardy and Dylan Meyer and sophomores Michael Feagles and Bryan Baumgarten earned PING All-Midwest Region honors. The recognition was announced during the second round of play at the 2018 NCAA Men's Golf National Championships, where the Illini are making their 11th consecutive appearance. The honor is the fourth for Hardy and Meyer in their careers, the second for Feagles and the first for Baumgarten. This marks the sixth consecutive season that the Illini have placed four or more golfers on the All-Region list.
THE TOURNAMENT
The 2018 NCAA Men's Golf Championships are being held on the Par 72, 7,460-yard course at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The tournament format will feature four rounds of stroke play, with the field being narrowed to 15 teams after 54 holes are played. An individual champion will be determined following the final round of stroke play, and the top eight teams will advance to the match play portion of the championship. Match play quarterfinals and semifinals will be held on May 29, and the final match will take place on May 30.
GOLF CHANNEL COVERAGE
The Golf Channel will provide pre-tournament, live and post-round coverage of the NCAA Men's Golf Championships beginning on May 28 (3-7 p.m.) when the individual national champion is crowned. Golf Channel's coverage also will include all three rounds of the team match-play tournament on Tuesday, May 29 (10 a.m.-12:30 p.m.; 3-7 p.m.) and Wednesday, May 30 (3-7 p.m.). In addition, Golf Central will feature combined pre-and post-event live news coverage produced on location, as well as daily news updates on Morning Drive and Golf Channel Digital.
FOLLOW THE ILLINI
Live scoring for the NCAA Golf Championships is available via Golfstat, and a recap will be posted on FightingIllini.com following each day of play. Fans can follow the Illini on Twitter and Instagram for even more live updates.
