Day 1 Results (PDF)Â | Live Scoring
LIHUE, Hawai'i – The Fighting Illini men's golf team opened play at the 44th annual John A. Burns Intercollegiate on Thursday (Feb. 20), shooting an opening-round team score of 290 (+2), to sit in a tie for sixth with UNLV heading into Day 2 at Wailua Golf Course.
"Today's was a good start despite some demanding conditions," said Illini head coach Mike Small. "The wind was up, so it was a tough course, but our offense was strong and we led the field in birdies today by four. We got a little weak in the middle of the round, but we're right in the middle of it, and ready to come out and play hard tomorrow."
The Illini were paced by senior Giovanni Tadiotto and freshman Jerry Ji who carded rounds of 1-under 71. Tadiotto was one of four golfers to record an eagle, doing so on the 535-yard, Par-5 13th hole, his seventh of the round after teeing off on No. 7 in the shotgun start. Ji recorded five birdies, including his last two holes of the round.
Senior Michael Feagles and sophomore Adrien Dumont de Chassart rounded out the scoring for the Illini on Day 1. Feagles and Dumont de Chassart, who tallied six opening-round birdies, are three strokes behind Tadiotto and Ji in a tie for 38th. Sophomore Noah Gillard posted a 76 and enters Round 2 in a tie for 75th in the field of 124.
Sophomore Tommy Kuhl, competing as an individual, sits in a six-way tie for the lead through 18 holes after opening his tournament with a score of 69 (-3), thanks in part to an eagle on the 535-yard No. 9.
As a team, the Illini are one stroke behind UC Irvine and New Mexico which sit in a tie for fourth at 289 (+1). UNC Wilmington and BYU are tied for the team lead at 1-under 287, while Texas A&M rounds out the Top-5 at even-par (288).
Round 2 is slated to begin at 12 p.m. CT/8 a.m. HT tomorrow. The Illini will tee off of Holes 4-6, and will be paired with New Mexico, UNLV and Long Beach State. Live scoring is available on Golfstat.
