University of Illinois
National Invitational Tournament
Dumont De Chassart Leads, Illini In Hunt at N.I.T
March 20, 2021 | Men's Golf
TUCSON, Ariz. – The No. 4-ranked Fighting Illini men's golf team opened play against a talented field at the National Invitational Tournament on Saturday at Omni Tucson National, carding back-to-back rounds of 277 to sit in fourth place at 22-under. The Illini were paced by a pair of top-10 performances from the Belgian duo of Adrien Dumont de Chassart, who leads the tournament through 36 holes, and senior Giovanni Tadiotto, who enters Sunday's final round in seventh.
"It was a solid day," head coach Mike Small said. "Adrien and Giovanni were really strong from start to finish. Those guys played from strength all day, and that carried us."
Dumont de Chassart holds a one-stroke lead over New Mexico's Brandon Shong atop the individual leaderboard with a two-round score of 133 (-11). The native of Villers La Ville, Belgium, opened with a 68 in Round 1, before tying his career-best with a 65, the lowest round of the day, in Round 2.
"Adrien is playing really well and he has been working really hard this spring, so I'm happy for the strong play that he has been having," Small added.
Tadiotto is three strokes off Dumont de Chassart's pace, alone in seventh place in the 104-player field that includes 19 of Golfstat's top 100 rated collegiate players. He opened with a 6-under 66 in Round 1, one stroke off his career-best, to tie for first place in the morning round, and shot 2-under 70 in Round 2 to finish at 136 (-8).
Senior Michael Feagles is two under entering Sunday's finale. The native of nearby Scottsdale, Ariz., was 4-under through his first 10 holes of the day, but struggled late in his opening round to shoot a 1-over 73. He bounced back in the afternoon, however, carding nine birdies to finish 3-under in Round 2 and climb 31 spots into a tie for 27th with a two-round total of 142 (-2).
Sophomore Jerry Ji, coming off his first-career win earlier in the week at the Louisiana Classics, notched rounds of 71 and 73 to finish the day at even par a tie for 45th. Junior Tommy Kuhl is two strokes behind Ji's pace in a tie for 66th with a 36-hole total of 146 (+2).
"The rest of the team still had flashes of really good play, but we got loose with some of our shots in the middle of the day - at the end of the first round and the beginning of the second - and we lost some ground there," Small added. "We didn't make as many putts as we would normally like to make, but we're still in this thing. It's a great field and a good golf course with different conditions in a different part of the country, so there are a lot of positives to take from today, and we're still in position to contend tomorrow."
The Orange and Blue are one stroke ahead of tournament host and No. 17-ranked Arizona, who rounds out the top five of the team standings. No. 8 Oklahoma State (547) leads the tournament at 29-under, followed by No. 2 Oklahoma (550) at 26-under. No. 37 New Mexico is one stroke ahead of the Illini with a two-round team total of 553 (-23). Sixth-ranked Texas (559) and No. 41 San Diego State (560) are also in contention in sixth and seventh place, respectively.
Piercen Hunt is also in action for the Illini. Competing as an individual, the freshman carded the best round of his early collegiate career with a 1-under 71 in Round 1, but was among the group of 52 golfers that were still on the course as darkness set it in and play was halted Saturday night. He is currently tied for 57th at 1-over with six holes remaining in his second round.
Play will resume Sunday at 7 a.m. MST for those golfers still wrapping up Round 2. Round 3 is set to begin at 8 a.m. MST. The Illini tee off between 9:20 and 9:40 a.m. MST. Live scoring is available at Golfstat.com.
| Place | Player | RD1 | RD2 | RD3 | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Illinois | 277 | 277 | - | 554 (-22) |
| 1 | Adrien Dumont de Chassart | 68 | 65 | - | 133 (-11) |
| 7 | Giovanni Tadiotto | 66 | 70 | - | 136 (-8) |
| T27 | Michael Feagles | 73 | 69 | - | 142 (-2) |
| T45 | Jerry Ji | 71 | 73 | - | 144 (E) |
| T66 | Tommy Kuhl | 72 | 74 | - | 146 (+2) |
