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MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Fighting Illini men's golf opened NCAA Regional play on Monday at TPC Myrtle Beach, using a 9-under par first round score to sit atop the tournament field. Freshman Adrien Dumont de Chassart is also atop the leaderboard as he posted six birdies to finish 5-under par for the round. Junior Michael Feagles is also among the top individuals as he is 4-under par and tied for second. The Orange and Blue are joined among the top teams by Ohio State (-4), Wake Forest (-2) and Florida State (-2).  The second round of regional play is set to begin tomorrow at 6:30 a.m. CT.

"I'm happy to come into an NCAA Regional like this, continuing our momentum from the Big Ten Championship," head coach Mike Small said. "We talked about the fact that the last round of the Big Ten championship was very positive and it was more like the way we expect to play and command our space. Today the team did the same thing; they had a good look and they played solid golf. Michael and Adrien shot low scores, which you need someone to do every round. To throw out a 2-over par is what we've been looking for all year. I'm very happy with that, but we still have to stay on point. This tournament is just starting, and we have to stay determined and focused into tomorrow and Wednesday."

Dumont de Chassart was hot to start for Illinois on Monday as he played his first nine holes 4-under par, recording four birdies before making the turn. He added two more birdies on his final nine holes, negating one his bogey on the day. Dumont de Chassart has now shot 67 or lower in five rounds so far this season.

Tied for second overall, Feagles closed play with a 4-under par 68 on Monday. He also carded four birdies through his first nine holes, negating two bogeys to start his round. Feagles added three more birdies down the stretch for the Illini, including a birdie on his final hole of play.

Junior Giovanni Tadiotto and sophomore Varun Chopra closed the day at even par for the Orange and Blue, the two are tied for 20th individually. Tadiotto started his day 1-over par through his first nine holes. He negated two early bogeys with a pair of birdies on the second and third holes, however, to close his day at even par. Chopra recorded four birdies for Illinois on Monday.

Freshman Tommy Kuhl is tied for 35th individually as he shot 2-over par for the first round of play.

THE TOURNAMENT

Teams 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 in Myrtle Beach, 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.

FOLLOW ALONG

Live scoring for the 2019 Myrtle Beach Regional can be found on Golfstat, and a recap will be posted to FightingIllini.com following each day of play. Check in to FightingIllini.com for the latest on Illini golf. Illini fans can also follow @IlliniMGolf on Twitter, @IllinimGolf on Instagram and Fighting Illini Men's Golf on Facebook for and inside look at the Illinois men's golf program.