Final Results
STILLWATER, Okla. – Fighting Illini senior Dylan Meyer earned his second consecutive top-10 finish Monday at the NCAA Championships after a 3-under par final-round tally put him at 5-under par. Meyer tied for fourth overall, finishing two strokes back from the individual lead. The finish marks the fourth-highest for an Illini at the NCAA Championships in school history.
The 10th-ranked Illini squad concluded the 2018 campaign after advancing to the final round of stroke play. Led by Meyer, the Orange and Blue carded a 7-over par 295 in the final round of play to finish 24-over par for the 72-hole portion of the event.
"It was a good effort today," said head coach Mike Small. "I thought the front nine was strong and we put ourselves in position to really do something special. But on the back nine, we got off point a little too often."
Meyer was hot right from the start on Monday, posting three birdies in his first five holes. He made the turn at 2-under par, and added two more birdies on his back nine to negate a bogey on the fifth hole.
Senior Nick Hardy also finished among the top players in the tournament as he tied for 32nd overall. Hardy shot 3-over par on Monday for a total score of 4-over par. He posted four consecutive birdies on his opening nine holes.
Sophomore Bryan Baumgarten tied for 61st individually, finishing the tournament at 13-over par. He shot 1-over par on Monday for the Orange and Blue.
Sophomore Michael Feagles finished 68th individually with a four-round tally 15-over par. He was 6-over par on Monday. Sophomore Giovanni Tadiotto shot 21-over par for the tournament to tie for 79th overall.
Oklahoma State, Duke, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Auburn, Alabama, Texas and Texas A&M advanced out of stroke play to compete in the match play portion of the championship, which is being held on the par 72, 7,460-yard course at Karsten Creek Golf Club.
As a team, the No. 10-ranked Illini made their 11th consecutive NCAA Championship appearance in 2018, and the 13th under head coach Mike Small. The squad earned its fourth consecutive Big Ten Championship title, and the ninth in the last ten seasons. Hardy became Illinois' 20th Big Ten Championship medalist, also winning the tournament for the second time in his career. Illinois finished among the top five teams in 12 tournaments this season, taking home three event titles, also including the BIGHORN Invitational and the 3M Augusta Invitational trophies.
Seniors Dylan Meyer and Nick Hardy conclude decorated careers for Illinois as the two combined to win four Big Ten Team Championship titles and three Big Ten Individual medalist honors. They both earned PING All-Midwest Region honors in each of their four seasons, and combine for three PING All-America honors. Meyer was named the 2017 Big Ten Player of the year, while Hardy earned the honor in 2018 and earned the league's Freshman of the Year honor in 2015. The two have earned eight All-Big Ten honors as well.
"It was a pleasure, as a coach, to have Nick and Dylan for four years," said Small. "All of the success they had individually and as a team will leave a legacy that will last for a long time. As their coach, I will always remember their strong commitment to our program and to the University of Illinois.
The Illini will return five young players for next year in Bryan Baumgarten, Michael Feagles Giovanni Tadiotto, Brendan O'Reilly and Varun Chopra. The program will also welcome four freshmen in Luke Armbrust (Wheaton, Illinois), Adrien Dumont De Chassart (Villers La Ville, Belgium), Noah Gillard (Greenwood, Indiana) and Tommy Kuhl (Morton, Illinois).
