OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. – The No. 12-ranked Illinois men's golf team continued play at the 15th annual OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational at Olympia Fields on Saturday.
The Orange and Blue showed signs of improvement after a slow start on Day 1. Behind strong second-round scores from sophomore Piercen Hunt, senior Adrien Dumont de Chassart and junior Jerry Ji, the Illini cut six strokes off their opening total to sit at 18-over par (578), but remain in 11th place entering Sunday's final round.
"We're still looking to have a total team effort," head coach Mike Small said. "I thought the way that Piercen came back from yesterday's round was impressive. He had a really good look to himself. He commanded his tee shot really well today, and played a really solid round. This course is still playing very tough and difficult; you have to drive it in play. Jerry and Adrien closed a lot better than yesterday which was great to see, obviously, but we need that total team effort to move up the leaderboard.
"The scores are bunched. There's not a lot of separation on this golf course because it's just that demanding. We need to come out tomorrow, take responsibility for our games, enjoy the challenge of it - enjoy playing at a venue like this that is difficult and challenging, yet fun - and see what we can do."
Hunt, who came into the day tied for 61st with an opening round of 6-over 76, followed up with a round of 1-under 69 to record his first collegiate round in the 60s. That helped Hunt, playing in his first OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational, jump 30 spots into a tie for 31st heading into Round 3.
Dumont de Chassart continues to lead the Illini with a top-20 position. The senior followed his Round 1 of 72 with an even-par 70 to move up five spots from 22nd into a tie for 17th. He is six strokes behind a trio of players – Arizona State's David Puig, Oklahoma States Brian Stark, and North Carolina's David Forde – who lead the field at 136 (-4). Ji matched Dumont de Chassart's 70 in Round 2 to remain one stroke off his pace in a four-way tie for 23rd, and one shot ahead of Hunt.
Senior Tommy Kuhl factored into the scoring for the second-consecutive round for the Illini. After a 74 on Friday, the Morton, Ill., native shot a 7-over 77 in Round 2 to slide into a tie for 63rd. Junior Nico Lang, the fifth member of the Illini lineup sits along in 75th place after rounds of 73 and 82.
Freshman Dylan Keating leads the way for the Illini's four individual competitors in a tie for 57th at 10-over. Fellow freshmen Jackson Buchanan (+12) and TJ Barger (+13) are tied for 67th and 72nd, respectively, while senior Luke Armbrust (+18) is 81st with 18 holes to play.
North Carolina sits atop the team leaderboard with a two-round score of 561 (+1), three strokes ahead of Arizona State (564) in second place. Day 1 leader Oklahoma State is seven strokes back in third place with a 36-hole total of 568. Indiana (571) and Alabama (573) round out the top five
Sunday's final round tees off beginning at 7:30 a.m. CT. The Illini, paired with Baylor and Purdue, start on No. 10 at 7:45 a.m CT. Live scoring will be available via GolfStat.
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