WINDERMERE, Fla. – Sophomore Piercen Hunt rallied over the final round of the Isleworth Collegiate Invitational on Tuesday, leading the Fighting Illini to a runner-up team finish while capturing the first individual victory of his collegiate career at Isleworth Golf & Country Club.
As a team, Illinois followed Hunt's lead and jumped out to a blistering start, eventually overtaking Arizona State atop the team standings at the turn in Round 3. However, the Illini were unable to maintain that momentum down the stretch, and the No. 3-ranked Sun Devils rallied past the Illini and held on for the two-stroke victory.
"I was really happy with our start today; we came out like a team that was going to chase down the lead, and we gave one of the top teams in the country a run for their money," head coach Mike Small said. "We had the lead going into the back nine after we came out and got on them early, and I'm very happy with the way we did that. We just didn't continue the momentum into the back nine. We had a couple of tough holes, and to Arizona State's credit, they played really well on the back nine."
Hunt faced some adversity of his own on the back nine. After opening with a birdie on No. 1 and notching an eagle on No. 7, the Hartland, Wis., native was 3-under at the turn. He birdied 10 and looked to continue his dominant play, but bogeys on Nos. 12 and 13 moved him to 2-under with five holes remaining in his round. Hunt steadied himself and closed with back-to-back birdies on 16 and 17 before capping his round with a par on 18 to complete his first title in the Orange & Blue.
"Piercen played great all week, and he's getting better and better all the time," Small added. "He had a couple of tough holes throughout the week, but he came back from them, and they did not drag him down, which was encouraging to see. He made those birdies coming in (on 16 and 17) trying to help our team win, and that's the way it works. And in that sense, that helped him win individually, too, because he took care of business coming in. I'm happy for Piercen; this is, traditionally, one of the top-rated college events every year, and it's a good win for him."
Senior Adrien Dumont de Chassart shot a Round 3 score of 72 to finish at 211 (-5) in a tie for third place, just two strokes behind Hunt. It marks the 10th-career top-five finish for Dumont de Chassart, and his second of the fall season after a runner-up finish in the season-opening Hoosier Collegiate Invitational.
Junior Jerry Ji (218) and senior Tommy Kuhl (219) finished tied for 18th and tied for 22nd, respectively after each carding final rounds of 71 (-1).
Freshman Jackson Buchanan, playing in his first tournament in the Illini lineup, continued his rise up the leaderboard on Tuesday, jumping 11 spots into a tie for 41st with his best round of the event (72) to finish with a 54-hole total of 224 (+8). Classmate TJ Barger, competing as an individual in the event, finished 74th with a three-round score of 238 (+22).
UP NEXT
The Illini return to the course on Feb. 5 in the annual Tinervin Cup vs. Illinois State at Coral Creek Golf Club in Placida, Fla.
FOLLOW THE #ILLINI
For more Fighting Illini men's golf news, stay tuned to FightingIllini.com and follow @IlliniMGolf on social media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook.
