WINDERMERE, Fla. – The Fighting Illini men's golf team carded a 3-under 285 at the Isleworth Golf and Country Club on Monday, making the day's second-biggest jump up the team standings during Round 2 of the Isleworth Collegiate.
The Illini, who opened with a lackluster round of 294 (+6) on Sunday, improved by nine strokes to bounce back with one of only five under-par team scores on the second day of the 15-team event. The effort helped the Orange and Blue ascended from a tie for 10th place to move into position for a top-five finish heading into Tuesday's finale.
"Today was as step in the right direction, head coach Mike Small said. "The scores were better, and our presence was better. Obviously, when you don't count a 4-over you're going to have a better day. We didn't count anything over par today, which is a step in the right direction. We just need to continue to get our putters figured out, and play the par-5s better."
Three fifth-year seniors – Adrien Dumont de Chassart, Tommy Kuhl, and Matthis Besard - sit inside the top 20 entering Round 3. Dumont de Chassart leads the way in a solo 12th place, one stroke outside of the top 10 with a two-round total of 141 (-3).
Kuhl led the Illini in Round 2, finishing with a 2-under 70 to climb 10 spots into a share of 18th with a 36-hole total of 144 (E). Besard also shot under par in Round 2 and is tied with Kuhl for 18th following rounds of 73 and 71.
Kuhl and Dumont de Chassart were each selected to the 20-player final fall watchlist for the Haskins Award, making the Illini one of four programs nationally with multiple honorees.
Junior Piercen Hunt returned to form for the Illini after shooting 5-over in Round 1. He carded an even-par 72 in Round 2, closing out the scoring for Illinois and jumping 13 spots up the leaderboard into a share of 37th with a two-round total of 149 (+5). Sophomore Jackson Buchanan is tied for 68th at 12-over.
No. 3 Auburn and No. 11 Florida are 1-2 in the team race with scores of 556 (-20) and 564 (-12), respectively. No. 42 Purdue is 2-under in third place, five strokes ahead of the No. 9-ranked Illini. No. 28 LSU is fourth at 1-over, followed by Illinois and No. 31 North Florida at 3-over to round out the top five.
Round 3 is set to tee off Tuesday morning with tee times beginning at 8 a.m. ET/7 a.m. CT. The Orange and Blue, paired with LSU and UNF, will start on No. 1 beginning at 8:50 a.m. ET/7:50 a.m. CT. Live scoring is available throughout the tournament at Golfstat.com.
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