CHAMPAIGN – Fighting Illini men's golf is set to travel to the NCAA Myrtle Beach Regional, as announced this evening on the Golf Channel. Hosted by Coastal Carolina University and the Myrtle Beach Regional Sports Alliance, the regional championship will be held at TPC Myrtle Beach in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina. The Orange and Blue have now qualified for an NCAA Regional in each of the last 12 seasons.
The NCAA Myrtle Beach Regional will be played in a 54-hole format, conducted May 13-15. The Illini will play one round of 18 holes each day at TPC Myrtle Beach's 6,950-yard, Par 72 Course. TPC Myrtle Beach has played host to the Senior PGA Tour Championship, and was awarded five stars by Golf Digest magazine.
Illinois earned the No. 4 seed in the regional field and will be joined by 13 other teams, including Wake Forest, California, Texas Tech, Florida State, UNLV, Oregon, Ohio State, Northwestern, Oregon State, Cal State Fullerton, Middle Tennessee, VCU and Robert Morris.
The low five teams and low individual not on a qualifying team from each of the six NCAA regional sites will advance to compete at the NCAA Championships at Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Arkansas, May 24-29.
The six regional sites include Palouse Ridge Golf Club in Pullman, Washington, hosted by Washington State University; Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, California, hosted by Stanford University; TPC Myrtle Beach in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, hosted by Coastal Carolina University and Myrtle Beach Regional Sports Alliance; University of Louisville Golf Club in Simpsonville, Kentucky, hosted by the University of Louisville; University of Georgia Golf Course in Athens, Georgia, hosted by the University of Georgia; and University of Texas Golf Club in Austin, Texas, hosted by the University of Texas.
The Orange and Blue earned a second-place team finish at the 2018 NCAA West Lafayette Regional last season to advance to the NCAA Championships for the 11th-straight year. Four Illini finished among the top 10 at last year's regional, including then-sophomores Bryan Baumgarten and Michael Feagles who took ninth and 10th places, respectively.
The Illini are coming off of their fifth consecutive Big Ten Championship title at the Philadelphia Cricket Club last weekend, marking the program's 10th title in the last 11 years. Four Illini closed the tournament among the top 20 individually, led by freshman Adrien Dumont de Chassart who became Illinois' ninth consecutive Big Ten Individual Medalist as he shared the top spot on the leaderboard with Minnesota's Angus Flanagan. Illinois has finished among the top five teams in eight tournaments this season, taking home four team titles and earning two runner-up finishes. The Orange and Blue won consecutive fall tournaments at the MacDonald Cup and the Fighting Irish Classic, and closed regular season play with a 37-under par runner-up performance at the Hawkeye Invitational.
Stay tuned to FightingIllini.com for all the latest information as Illinois continues to prepare for the Myrtle Beach Regional.
