SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – The Fighting Illini men's golf team advanced to the match play portion of the 2021 NCAA Men's Golf Championship after wrapping up a fifth-place finish during Monday's stroke play finale at Grayhawk Golf Club's Raptor Course.
It marks the program's seventh appearance in match play in the last 11 NCAA Championships – the current format was adopted in 2009 – and also ranks as the second-most nationally, just one behind Oklahoma State who also advanced on Monday.
"This is our goal at the start of the year," head coach Mike Small said. "We're second in the country in number of appearances in the elite eight, so it's something we've been used to, but it's been a couple of years since we've been there. That hasn't set well with the entire team, so I'm glad we got back and have this chance again.
The Illini made their first match play appearance in 2011, and advance to five consecutive beginning with 2013's national runner-up finish and concluding in 2017.
"It's just the standard that we try to hit," Small added. "Some years you hit it, some years you don't, but I want to be clear that years aren't necessarily a successful year or not if you don't make it. There's different levels of success that teams can achieve for themselves. I think, for this team, this was an appropriate goal, and the way we've played this spring shows that. Just because other teams didn't make it, doesn't make it a bad year, it just means we didn't make it. Now we're here and it's something we can be excited about and be proud of.
The Illini were once again anchored in Round 4 by fifth-year senior and Scottsdale native Michael Feagles who closed out the tournament with a 72-hole total of 4-under 276 to finish in fourth place, three strokes off the pace of Clemson's Turk Pettitt who claimed the individual championship. Feagles carded an even-par 70 in his final stroke play round as an Illini, and in the process secured the school record for the lowest single-season stroke average with a 70.55 mark in 2020-21, surpassing Nick Hardy's mark of 70.61 from 2017-18. Â
"It was pretty surreal the past few days," said Feagles of competing for a national championship in his hometown. "I feel like I'm a leader of this team, and I feel like the team goes where I go, so I knew I had to show up and play really well this week. To be able to do it when it seems like there are a lot of eyes on you - and at the same time with so many friends and family and supporters out here - It was the most fun I've ever had on a golf course. I'm thrilled with this week and my focus is moving toward match play, and I'm pretty stoked for these guys."
Sophomore Jerry Ji closed out his first NCAA Championship in a tie for 29th with a four-round total of 285 (+5), just two strokes ahead of junior Adrien Dumont de Chassart (287) who notched a closing 73 to finish in a tie for 34th.
Also playing in his final stroke play event for the Orange and Blue, fifth-year senior Giovanni Tadiotto matched Dumont de Chassart's 73 to factor into the Round 4 team score and finish tied for 69th. Junior Tommy Kuhl posted the Illini's fourth counting score of the day with a 74 and finished with a four-round total of 290 (+10) in a tie for 44th.
The Illini, who entered the NCAA Championship ranked No. 8 nationally, are the fifth seed in the match play bracket where they will open with a quarterfinal test against No. 4 seed Oklahoma, the No. 1 team in Golfstat's team rankings entering the week. They tee off beginning at 9:10 a.m. CT/7:10 a.m. MST off of No. 10, with the winner of the match advancing to a semifinal matchup against either No. 1 seed and host Arizona State or No. 8 seed North Carolina. Other quarterfinal matchups include: No. 2 Oklahoma State vs. No. 7 Vanderbilt, and No. 3 Pepperdine vs. No. 6 Florida State. Semifinals are schedule for Tuesday afternoon with tee times beginning at 2:45 p.m. CT/12:45 p.m. MST.
Live scoring is available throughout the day via Golfstat, and GOLF Channel coverage is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. CT/9 a.m. MST for the quarterfinals and 4 p.m. CT/2 p.m. MST for the semifinals.
