Final Results | Photo Gallery
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The Fighting Illini men's golf team used a 16-under par final round Wednesday to propel itself to a team victory at the NCAA Myrtle Beach Regional. Junior Michael Feagles led the Orange and Blue with a 7-under par final round score as he earned individual medalist honors. Feagles becomes Illinois' fifth NCAA Regional medalist, and the Illini have won five NCAA Regional titles in the past seven seasons.
Finishing the tournament at 25-under par in total, the 23rd-ranked Illini advance to the NCAA Championships for the 12th consecutive season. Ohio State (-20), Wake Forest (-15), California (-15) and UNLV (-8) will also advance to the NCAA Championships from the Myrtle Beach Regional.
"I'm proud of this team and the fact that they can put their name on the NCAA Regional banner that we have at Demirjian," head coch Mike Small said. "They earned this Regional title for themselves and followed up on the Big Ten Championship victory. We have been trying to get them to grow and play with strength and purpose all year, and it all came together this week. The ability to play in a qualifying event and still pursue a victory is very important for me and I can see that it's important to the team. I'm really proud of Michael {Feagles}, he follows some very good Regional Champions that we've had, and this is big for him. He made a commitment this week to stay in the moment and only worry about what he can control, and he played as solid of a tournament as I've ever seen him play."
Feagles continued to stay hot through the final round of play as he used five birdies on the front nine to make the turn at 5-under par. He posted back-to-back birdies on the first and second holes and followed with a pair on the sixth and seventh as well. Feagles used four birdies on the back nine to negate two bogeys and close the round with a 7-under par 65. He was 15-under par for the tournament, and his 54-hole score of 201 marks a new career low and stands as the second-lowest individual 54-hole score in Illini history. Brian Campbell owns the top spot with a 197 at the Macdonald Cup in 2013. Feagles is Illinois' first NCAA Regional medalist since 2017 and the fifth in school history, and he earns his first-career individual title.
Freshman Adrien Dumont de Chassart also finished among the top individuals in the tournament with a total score 9-under par. He finished NCAA Regional play with a 4-under par final round, using five birdies to negate one bogey in the round and tie for fourth overall.
Freshman Tommy Kuhl finished in a tie for 20th individually on Wednesday as he shot 2-under par to finish the tournament at even par. He racked up four birdies.
Sophomore Varun Chopra was also strong for Illinois as he used a bogey-free final round to move into a tie for 27th. He carded three birdies on the back nine, including a pair on the 11th and 12th holes, to shoot 3-under for the day and 1-over par for the tournament.
Junior Giovanni Tadiotto closed the tournament at 10-over par and tied for 60th following a 4-over par final round.
THE TOURNAMENT
The three day, 54-hole tournament was held at TPC Myrtle Beach's 6,950-yard, Par 72 Course. Illinois earned the No. 4 seed in the regional field and was 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. Ohio State, Wake Forest, California and UNLV will advance out of the Myrtle Beach Regional field.
ILLINI AT NCAA REGIONALS
Illinois made its 12th consecutive NCAA Regional appearance this season, coming off of its fifth consecutive Big Ten Championship victory. In school history, the Orange and Blue have won five NCAA Regional titles and seen four individuals combine for five NCAA Regional individual titles in the past nine seasons. The Orange and Blue have qualified for the NCAA National Championship in each of the last 12 seasons, which marks the second-longest active streak in the nation. Texas has qualified for 13 consecutive seasons. The Illini won four consecutive NCAA Regionals from 2013-2016 and earned their fifth NCAA Regional victory on Wednesday. Illinois is one of just three schools to have won four straight Regional Championships, and was the first school to do so since the early 1990s (Arizona, 1990-1993). Illinois is one of 13 schools to have won five or more regional titles overall.
The Illini have finished among the top five at the National Championship in five of the last six years and in six of the past eight seasons. Since the format was adopted in 2009, the Illini, along with Oklahoma, have made the most appearances in the match play portion of the NCAA Championships with six.
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Illinois NCAA Regional Medalists
Luke Guthrie – 2011, Central Regional
Brian Campbell – 2014, Sugar Grove Regional
Brian Campbell – 2015, Noblesville Regional
Nick Hardy – 2017, West Lafayette Regional co-medalist
Michael Feagles – 2018, NCAA Myrtle Beach Regional
Illinois NCAA Regional Titles
2013 – NCAA Fayetteville Regional
2014 – NCAA Sugar Grove Regional
2015 – NCAA Noblesville Regional
2016 – NCAA Kohler RegionalÂ
2019 – NCAA Myrtle Beach Regional
