OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. – The No. 12-ranked Illinois men's golf team closed out play at the 15th annual OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational at Olympia Fields Country Club on Sunday.
The Illini finished 11th in the 15-team field that included 12 programs ranked or receiving votes in the latest GCAA Coaches' Poll. No. 6-ranked North Carolina held off No. 5 Arizona State and No. 1 Oklahoma State to claim their first OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational title. Tar Heels junior Austin Greaser also took home medalist honors with a three-round total of 206 (-4), one of only six of the 81 competitor to finish under par on the demanding OFCC North Course.
"This was another successful Olympia Fields Country Club/Fighting Illini Invitational," head coach Mike Small said. "The club and the staff always do a great job and we want to thank them for helping to put on the best tournament in college golf."
The Illini, despite a very strong push late in Sunday's final round, were unable to gain any ground in the final team standings.
"This was not the finish we were looking for," Small added. "But, like we talked about as a team after the round, let's have something good come out of this. Let's not just brush it under the rug and forget about it. We need to evaluate and figure out what went wrong."
"Today, I was kind of disappointed in the way we started the day. But again, for the second straight event to start this year, the good news was that we closed really well. We shot 4-under par over the last nine holes, which shows that we can get it done. We just have to quit picking our spots, and really bring it consistently."
junior Jerry Ji carded the lowest round of the weekend for the Illini with a closing 68, giving him a 54-hole score of 1-over 211 and vaulting him from 23rd into a share of 10th. It marks the sixth-career top-10 finish for Ji.
Senior Adrien Dumont de Chassart finished one stroke behind Ji in a tie for 12th. Dumont de Chassart fired a 72 in Round 1, before posting back-to-back rounds of even-par 70. Sunday's round also moved him five spots up the leaderboard.
Junior Tommy Kuhl and sophomore Piercen Hunt rounded out the scoring for the Illini on Day 3. Hunt shot a 75 to finish at 10-over in a tie for 42nd. Kuhl matched his opening round 74 on Sunday to tie for 64th at 15-over par.
Junior Nico Lang, the fifth member of the Illini lineup, finished tied for 78th with a three-round total of 232 (+22).
Four Illini – including a trio of freshmen making their Illini debuts – competed as individuals. Dylan Keating tied for 59th at 13-over, including a final round of 73 on Sunday. Classmate TJ Barger also impressed in his third round of the weekend, closing with a 72 to tie with Kuhl for 64th. Jackson Buchanan (+18) tied for 73rd, while senior Luke Armbrust (+23) finished 80th.
NEXT UP
The Illini travel to Fayetteville, Ark., to compete in the Blessings Collegiate Invitational hosted by the University of Arkansas at Blessings Golf Club, site of the 2019 NCAA Championship, Oct. 4-6. A unique event that features both the men's and women's teams from each of the 10 participating schools, the Blessings will be televised with daily coverage from 3:30-6:30 p.m. CT on GOLF Channel.
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