CHAMPAIGN - Fighting Illini men's golf is set to open the 2019 spring season on Friday at the Big Ten Match Play Championship. Held February 8-9, the event will welcome all 14 Big Ten men's golf teams to Hammock Beach Resort in Palm Coast, Florida. Hammock Beach Resort features two courses, the Ocean Course (Par 72, 7,201-yards) and the Conservatory Course (Par 72, 7,776 yards). 

"This event is very important to our development as we continue to evaluate our team," Small said of the Big Ten Match Play Championship. "We want all of our players to grow individually throughout the spring so that everyone is clicking come championship play.  Because of its match play format, this week's event is an important start to that process.   This format is different than stroke play in that it exposes both weaknesses and strengths in a player's game, and at this time of year, that is important."

The tournament will feature a single-elimination bracket format, with seeds determined using the final fall Golfstat rankings. Each team match will consist of six individual matches. The first round of the Big Ten Match Play Championship is set to begin with a 7 a.m. CT shotgun start on Friday morning, with the second round to follow at 12:30 p.m. The Illini earned the No. 1 seed in the tournament field, receiving a first-round bye. No. 2-seeded Northwestern will also receive a bye into the quarterfinal round. 

The championship semifinals and the consolation semifinals will tee off at 7 a.m. on Saturday, with the final matches to follow at 12:30 p.m. CT.

Live scoring can be found on BirdieFire, and a recap will be posted on FightingIllini.com following each day of play. The event will also air on the Big Ten Network March 2 at 10:30 a.m. CT.   Fans can also follow along with @IlliniMGolf on Twitter for live updates.