WINDERMERE, Fla. – Piercen Hunt continued a stretch of impressive play into Round 1 of the Isleworth Collegiate Invitational on Sunday, leading the Fighting Illini with an opening score of 68 (-4) to set a new career-low.
Hunt's 68 – his fourth in the 60s over his last six rounds dating back to Day 2 of the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational last month – leaves the sophomore from Hartland, Wis., in a three-way tie for third, just one stroke off the pace of Arizona State's duo of Cameron Sisk and Preston Summerhays with 36 holes to play at Isleworth Golf & Country Club. Â
Seniors Adrien Dumont de Chassart (72) and Tommy Kuhl (73) also tallied top-25 scores in Round 1 to help the Illini move into a three-way tie for third in the team standings. As a team, the 17th-ranked Illini shot 289 (+1) to match North Florida and co-host West Virginia. They sit one stroke behind No. 21 Auburn in second at even par, while No. 3-ranked Arizona State jumped out to an early advantage with an 11-under 277. Â
Dumont de Chassart was 4-over through 11 holes on Sunday, but rallied with four birdies over his final seven holes to secure an even-par 72 (T-17th). Kuhl sits just one stroke behind Dumont de Chassart in a 15-way tie for 22nd.
Junior Jerry Ji rounded out the scoring for the Illini in Round 1 with a 4-over 76. Freshman Jackson Buchanan, playing in his first event in the Illini's scoring lineup, opened with 79 (+7), and classmate TJ Barger, teeing off as an individual competitor, shot 78 to sit in a tie for 60th in the 75-player field.
Round 2 is set to begin at 8 a.m. ET/7 a.m. CT tomorrow. The Illini, paired with WVU and sixth-place South Carolina, tee off beginning at 8:50 a.m. ET/7:50 a.m. CT on No. 1, with live scoring available throughout the day via Golfstat.
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