WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Four Fighting Illini posted top-10 individual scores – paced by 36-hole leader Adrien Dumont de Chassart – to help No. 21-ranked Illinois to a one-shot advantage atop the team standings heading into Sunday's final round at the Boilermaker Invitational at Purdue's Ackerman-Allen Golf Course.
Battling cold conditions that delayed the morning start by an hour and posed an added challenge throughout the day, Illinois combined to shoot 284 and 277, the lowest team scores in each round. The Orange and Blue finished with a 36-hole total of 561, just ahead of host Purdue, as the No. 31 Boilermakers matched the Illini with a Round 1 score of 284, but fell off the pace with a 278 in Round 2. Illinois' 277 marked the fifth-lowest single-round team score in the event's 18-year history.
Despite the delayed tee times, Dumont de Chassart was dialed in from start to finish. The senior combined to card nine birdies and just one bogey en route to a 36-hole total of 8-under 134. Purdue's Cole Bradley (137) is three strokes behind Dumont De Chassart heading into Round 3.
In Round 2, Dumont de Chassart set the tone for his afternoon by carding three-straight birdies to begin the round. He added three more, on Nos. 8, 16 and 17, and was bogey-free throughout to tie former Illini Charlie Danielson (in 2015 and 2016) for the fifth-best round in the history of Boilermaker Invitational.
Fellow senior Tommy Kuhl, the reigning Big Ten Golfer of the Week, is seven strokes off the lead in a tie for sixth place after carding rounds of 73 and 68 to sit at 1-under (141). Sophomore Piercen Hunt and freshman Jackson Buchanan are just two strokes back of Kuhl in a tie for 10th at 1-over. Hunt shot 69 and 74, while Buchanan opened with a 73 and shot 70 in Round 2. Junior Jerry Ji is tied for 40th after shooting back-to-back rounds of 75.
Playing as individual competitors, junior Nico Lang (75-75) is tied with Ji at 8-over, while senior Luke Armbrust (81-70) is tied for 48th at 9-over in the 81-player field.
The Illini enter the final round in search of the program's second team title of the 2021-22 campaign, having tied for the top honors at the season-opening Hoosier Collegiate Invitational in September.
Round 3 is set to begin with tee times on Sunday starting at 10 a.m. ET/9 a.m. CT. The Illini, paired with Purdue and third-place Rutgers (+7), will start on No. 1 beginning at 11:08 a.m. ET/10:08 a.m. CT. Live scoring is available throughout the final round on Golfstat.com.
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