PDF RESULTS  | LIVE SCORING 

OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. – Fighting Illini men's golf opened the 2018 fall season on Friday, hosting the annual OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational. As a team, Illinois shot 5-over par led by junior Giovanni Tadiotto who opened the tournament at 2-under par to sit in a tie for fifth individually. Three Illini finished among the top 30 individuals on Friday, including freshman Tommy Kuhl shot even par and is tied for 13^th. The Illini are in sixth place heading into Saturday's second round. California and Oklahoma State are tied at the top of the leaderboard with team scores 7-under par. 

"I saw a lot of encouraging things from a lot of players," head coach Mike Small said. "We played really well for 12 holes; I thought we had a good vibe and a good look to start the tournament. The guys were excited and focused, and they zeroed in on what they had to do. But through the last six holes we gave some shots away. We need to close better, and our guys know that. Tomorrow we need to play solid, steady golf: take birdies when they come and limit our mistakes."

First off the tee on Friday, Tadiotto got off to a strong start as he posted three birdies in his first four holes. He was 1-under par at the turn, but recorded two more birdies down the stretch to negate bogeys in the middle of his round.

"Giovanni getting out of the box under par early and withstanding some adversity to finish strong was very encouraging and promising for me to see," Small said.

Junior Bryan Baumgarten also finished among the top-25 on Friday as he is 1-over par and tied for 21^st heading into Saturday's round. Baumgarten shot even par on the front nine, using two birdies to negate early bogeys. He added a birdie on the back nine and closed the round with another on the 18^th hole.

Junior Michael Feagles and sophomore Brendan O'Reilly each shot 3-over par to open the tournament, they are tied for 31^st overall. O'Reilly carded a birdie on the seventh hole for Illinois, while Feagles added four on the day.

Sophomore Varun Chopra closed the day 8-over par and is tied for 66^th individually.

Three Illini freshmen are competing in the field as individuals this week, as Kuhl, Luke Armbrust and Adrien Dumont de Chassart are making their first appearances in the Orange and Blue. Kuhl started the round strong on Friday, posting consecutive birdies on the third and fourth holes. He made the turn at even par after posting two bogeys. Kuhl added two more birdies to his tally and finished the day at even par.

Armbrust also got off to a hot start as he posted three birdies in his first six holes. He added another birdie on the back nine to help negate late bogeys in the round. Armbrust is 4-over par heading into Saturday's second round. Dumont de Chassart shot 11-over par on Friday and is tied for 73^rd individually.

THE TOURNAMENT

A three-day, 54-hole event, the 2018 OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational will continue Saturday with tee times starting at 8 a.m. Illinois tee times will begin at 8:45 a.m. on the first hole, and the Illini individuals will tee off from the 10^th tee starting at 9:15 a.m. Teams will play 18 holes each on the 7,353-yard, Par 70 North Course at Olympia Fields Country Club. Admission to the tournament is free for all fans.  

The 2018 tournament field includes No. 1 Oklahoma State, No. 2 Alabama, No. 4 Texas A&M, No. T-11 California, No. T-11 Stanford, No. 14 Baylor, No. 20 Southern California, No. 23 UNLV, No. 25 Florida State, RV Purdue, RV South Carolina, Air Force and Indiana. 

FOLLOW ALONG

Live scoring for the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational 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.