University of Illinois
NCAA Championship Stroke Play
Illini Open NCAA Championship in 10th
May 28, 2021 | Men's Golf
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The Fighting Illini men's golf team shot an opening round of 287 on Friday afternoon, led by an even-par 70 from sophomore Jerry Ji, to sit in a tie for 10th following Round 1 of the NCAA Men's Golf Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club's Raptor Course.
"I thought it was kind of a loose day, but it wasn't a bad day," Head coach Mike Small said. "We kind of salvaged it - showed some resiliency right at the end. Sure you'd like to be in first place every day, but you can't do that. You've got to get a feel for the course.
"We came out with a good look, but had some unforced errors early. We need to be more efficient on the golf course. This course can come up and bite you at times, and you have to be able to take those. But you can't compound those moments with unforced errors in other places. We had some three-putts early. We weren't as strong on the greens as we need to be, but all-in-all, we live to fight another day."
Despite playing in his first NCAA Championship, ji seemed avoid many unforced errors during his round. With the Illini teeing off on No. 10, Ji opened with 15 consecutive pars before his lone bogey of the day on No. 7. Ji, however, quickly returned to form to close out his day, tallying a par on No. 8, and finishing by sinking a birdie putt on the par-4 18th to card 70 and move into a tie for 28th in the 155-player field
"I was really happy for Jerry," Small said. "He came to play today; he played solid. He didn't make many putts, but he made a couple good par saves - and one birdie and one bogey; that's just a solid round. Jerry's been playing good. He's a good player and I'm happy for him."
Adrien Dumont de Chassart, the Big Ten Co-Player of the Year, is just one stroke off Ji's pace and sits in a tie for 44th at 1-over (71). He opened with back-to-back birdies on 10 and 11, and after a pair of bogeys on 12 and 13, moved to 1-under on the back nine with his third birdie of the day on No. 14. Bogeys on No. 1 and No. 7 moved the Illini junior to +1 on the day.
Fifth-year senior Michael Feagles and junior Tommy Kuhl rounded out the team scoring for the Orange and Blue in Round 1, carding rounds of 72 (+2) and 74 (+4), respectively, with each guy battling through tough starts. Feagles was 2-over through nine holes and shot even-par on the front to close out his day in a tie for 55th. Kuhl was 3-over at the turn, before closing at 1-over on the front with a birdie on four helping to offset a double-bogey on No. 7, to move into a tie for 87th. Senior Giovanni Tadiotto was never quite able to find his footing in Round 1, finishing with a 7-over 77 to sit in a tie for 128th heading into Saturday's second Round.
No. 22 Texas Tech sits atop the team standings at -4 (276) through 18 holes, 11 strokes ahead of Illinois, while Purdue's Cole Bradley, playing as an individual qualifier, holds a one-stroke lead after opening with a 66 (-4).
Illinois returns to action Saturday morning for Round 2. The No. 8-seeded Illini will once again be paired with No. 7 Wake Forest and No. 9 Pepperdine. The Demon Deacons are tied with Illinois for 10th, while the Waves shot 1-under as a team to sit three strokes off Texas Tech's pace in third place. They tee off of Hole No. 1 beginning at 9:05 a.m. CT/7:05 a.m. MST.
| Place | NCAA Championship | RD1 | RD2 | RD3 | RD4 | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T10 | Illinois | 287 | -- | -- | -- | 287 (+7) |
| T28 | Jerry Ji | 70 | -- | -- | -- | 70 (E) |
| T44 | Adrien Dumont de Chassart | 71 | -- | -- | -- | 71 (+1) |
| T55 | Michael Feagles | 72 | -- | -- | -- | 72 (+2) |
| T87 | Tommy Kuhl | 74 | -- | -- | -- | 74 (+4) |
| T128 | Giovanni Tadiotto | 77 | -- | -- | -- | 77 (+7) |
