STILLWATER, Okla. – The Fighting Illini men's golf team, ranked No. 9 in the latest Golfstat team rankings, tees off Monday at Karsten Creek Golf Club to begin three days of competition at the 2021 NCAA Stillwater Regional. The Orange and Blue are making their 13th consecutive NCAA Regional appearance and are looking to secure a berth in the 2021 NCAA Championship.
THE SETTING
The 2021 NCAA Stillwater Regional is hosted by Oklahoma State University at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla. The course, designed by Tom Fazio, was honored as the Best New Public Course for 1994 by Golf Digest Magazine. It stretches more than 7,500 yards with all of the holes carved from the native oak trees surrounding Lake Louise.
The Illini have competed in postseason play at Karsten Creek on several occasions, though 2021 marks their first regional appearance at the course. Illinois competed for NCAA Championships in 2003, 2011, and 2018 at Karsten Creek.Â
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
The 54-hole tournament will be played over three days, Monday-Wednesday, with 18 holes slated for each day. The low four scores will count towards the team score in each round. The top five teams, and the low individual not on one of those teams, will advance to the NCAA Championship.
THE FIELD
The ninth-ranked Fighting Illini enter the postseason as the No. 2 seed at the Stillwater Regional. Host and No. 4-ranked Oklahoma State is the top seed. In addition to the Illini and the Cowboys, the field in Stillwater features seven other programs ranked in the top 50 of the latest Golfstat team ratings: No. 15 Auburn, No. 21 SMU, No. 30 Notre Dame, No. 35 Alabama, No. 39 Baylor, No. 44 Ole Miss, and No. 49 Sam Houston State. Little Rock (55), Northwestern (65), College of Charleston (81) and Middle Tennessee (82) round out the 13-team field vying for five bids to the NCAA Championship, May 28-June 2 in Scottsdale, Ariz.
The 10 Individual qualifiers for the NCAA Stillwater Regional are: Devon Bling, UCLA; Mark Lawrence Jr., Virginia Tech; Trip Kinney, Iowa State; Vicente Marzilio, North Texas; Lachlan Barker, Iowa State; A.J. Ott, Colorado State; Tim Tillmanns, Kansas State; Guillaume Fanonnel, ULM; Lucas Carper, UC Davis; and Jack Howes, Oral Roberts.
FIGHTING ILLINI LINEUP
No. 1: Adrien Dumont de Chassart
No. 2: Michael Feagles
No. 3: Tommy Kuhl
No. 4: Jerry Ji
No. 5 Giovanni Tadiotto
Alt: Piercen Hunt
ILLINI HISTORY AT THE NCAA REGIONALS
The 2021 NCAA Stillwater Regional marks the 19th regional appearance for the Fighting Illini since 1989, and the 16th under the guidance of head coach Mike Small, who has now led the program to 13 consecutive regional berths dating back to 2008.
Small's teams have experienced great success in the regional round, having advanced to the NCAA Championship in each of their last 12 events, sitting one behind Texas for the longest active streak in the nation.
Small has also guided the Orange and Blue to five NCAA Regional team titles, including their most recent attempt in 2019 at Myrtle Beach. The Illini claimed four consecutive regional titles in 2013 (Fayetteville), 2014 (Sugar Grove), 2015 (Noblesville), and 2016 (Kohler), becoming just the second program to ever accomplish the feat (Arizona, 1990-93).
Individually, four different Illini have captured five medalist finishes at regionals. Most recently, current Illini fifth-year senior Michael Feagles won the Myrtle Beach Regional as a junior in 2019. Former Illini, and current tour professionals, Nick Hardy (2017 West Lafayette), Brian Campbell (2015 Noblesville and 2014 Sugar Grove), and Luke Guthrie (2011 Central) also took home regional medalist honors during their collegiate careers.
Feagles and fellow fifth-year senior Giovanni Tadiotto are each competing in their fourth NCAA Regional for the Illini. Feagles, in addition to his win in 2019 at Myrtle Beach, also captured a top-10 regional performance as a sophomore in 2018 in Columbus. Tadiotto's best individual showing at regionals came during his freshman season when he finished tied for 17th in West Lafayette. Juniors Adrien Dumont de Chassart and Tommy Kuhl also boast previous regional experience from their freshman campaigns in 2019 at Myrtle Beach. Dumont de Chassart tied for fourth at 9-under, six strokes of Feagles' medalist pace, while Kuhl shot even-par to secure a tie for 20th.
LIVE SCORING
Live scoring for the NCAA Stillwater Regional will be available on Golfstat.com. A recap and results will be posted on FightingIllini.com following each day of competition.
UP NEXT
The top five teams, and low individual, at the Stillwater Regional will advance to the NCAA National Championship, which will be played on the Raptor Course at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., May 28-June 3. Illinois is in search of the program's 13th-consecutive NCAA Championship berth dating back to 2008, a streak that ranks second nationally, one behind Texas.
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