Results | Live scoring
SCOTTSDALE, Arizona – Fighting Illini freshman Jerry Ji led the Orange and Blue on Friday as the team opened fall play in Scottsdale, Arizona at the Maui Jim Intercollegiate. Ji fired a 7-under par 63 to lead Illinois and move to the top of the individual leaderboard after one round of play. He is tied with Kent State's Josh Gilkison. As a team, the Orange and Blue fired an 11-under par tally and currently sit in a tie for fourth. Ji is joined among the top 10 individuals by senior Michael Feagles who shot 4-under par. Illinois is set to tee off at 10:40 a.m. CT tomorrow for the second round of action.
"For not playing desert golf very often, today was a successful day," head coach Mike Small said. "To have Jerry {Ji} come out here in his first collegiate event and shoot 7-under par was fun to watch. The conditions out here are perfect, and the course is gettable, so we're going to have to keep this momentum going with all five guys and pick up tomorrow where we left off today."
Ji tallied seven birdies on Friday for the Illini, finishing with a bogey-free opening round. His 18-hole score of 63 matches Illinois' school record, which was originally set by Chris DeForest in 2007.
Currently tied for 10th after one round of play, Feagles also started strong for Illinois, making birdie on his first hole of the day. He was 3-under par at the turn, and added two more birdies on his back nine to negate a late bogey in the round.
Junior Brendan O'Reilly shot 1-under par on Friday, also posting a bogey-free round. He finished strongly, making birdie on the 17th hole. O'Reilly is tied for 30th heading into the second round of play.
Senior Bryan Baumgarten shot 1-over par to open play at Mirabel, adding three birdies for the Orange and Blue. Junior Varun Chopra is 5-over par heading into tomorrow's second round of play. He tallied two birdies on Friday.
Several Illini are playing as individuals in the Mea Lanakila Individual, which is being held simultaneously at Desert Forest Golf Club (7,100-yard, Par 72). Tommy Kuhl leads the Illini in the field at Desert Forest as he shot a 2-under par 70 to open play and sit in a tie for third. Senior Giovanni Tadiotto and sophomore Noah Gillard are tied for 16th at 3-over par (75), while sophomores Adrien Dumont de Chassart and Luke Armbrust are tied for 21st at 4-over.
THE TOURNAMENT
Hosted by Georgia State University, the Maui Jim Intercollegiate is a three-day, 54-hole tournament played at Mirabel Golf Club September 13-15. Tournament action will continue on Saturday with tee times starting at 9 a.m. CT. Illinois is set to hit the course at 10:40 a.m. CT. Teams will play 18 holes each day on the 7,081-yard, Par 72 course at Mirabel Golf Club.
The 19th-ranked Illini will be joined by 14 other teams in the tournament field, including several teams ranked among the top 25 in the Bushnell Golfweek Preseason poll. Of the 15 teams competing this weekend, 11 qualified for 2019 NCAA Regional play, while six advanced to the 2019 NCAA Men's Golf Championships. The field includes No. 2 Arizona State, No. 10 Pepperdine, No. 11 Southern California, No. 15 LSU, No. 17 Clemson, No. 19 Illinois, RV Florida State, RV NC State, Arizona, Augusta, Colorado, Georgia State, Kent State, Minnesota and Utah.
FOLLOW ALONG
Live scoring for the 2019 Maui Jim Intercollegiate 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.
