GALLOWAY, N.J. – The No. 3-ranked Fighting Illini men's golf team claimed the 2023 Big Ten Championship on Sunday, cruising to the title by a 17-stroke margin, despite the eventual cancelation off the third and final round at rainy Galloway National Golf Club.

"It was a total team effort this weekend," said head coach Mike Small, who has now led the Illini to a Big Ten-record eight consecutive conference championships and 13 of 14 dating back to his first in 2009. "To lead by 17 shots in a two-round tournament, that takes a total team effort. To do that in just two rounds, not a three-round tournament, is a pretty big win."

After starting, pausing, and re-starting Round 3 over the course of the morning, an early afternoon surge of heavy rain eventually forced the Big Ten to cancel the third round in progress, resulting in the official results reverting back to Saturday's 36-hole tallies. As a result, the Illini posted a two-round score of 560 (-8), with all five members of the Orange and Blue lineup finishing inside the top 13.

"I'm happy because the team is happy," added Small. "I'm happy because they work hard for these kinds of moments, when they have to stand up and play the game the way they want to play it. And when they do, it makes you happy as a coach. There are going to be times when we're not going to win, times when it doesn't go our way. But as long as we're playing from strength, playing with optimism, and getting better and learning from our mistakes, I'm happy with it. Now we've strung a bunch of wins together because they are talented, they work hard, and they are competitors."

Tommy Kuhl and Matthis Besard shared the bronze medal, finishing in a tie for third at 140 (-2), one stroke off the pace of co-champions Mac McClear of Iowa and Daniel Svard of Northwestern. Kuhl and Besard also earned spots on the Big Ten All-Championship team, joining teammates Adrien Dumont de Chassart and Jackson Buchanan who tied for fifth at 1-under.

Piercen Hunt also opened the day in contention and finished tied for 13^th with a score of 144 (+2).

"That is the sign of a good team, when you compete against yourself just as much as you do with other teams," said Small of his team's individual positions near the top of the leaderboard. "We talk about, in our program, that we're a team. But from No. 1 tee to the 18th green, you're trying to beat everybody. You're pulling for them - your teammates - but you want to play against the best. And when they see each other every day, they push each other and elevate each other to get to a certain level. And that's something that was shown this week when we've got four guys inside the top five."

Sunday's cancelation also erased an impressive start to the final round by Buchanan. The sophomore had completed the front nine at 3-under and moved to -4 overall, taking over sole possession of the individual lead before play was paused and eventually halted.

The conference championship is the 20^th all-time for the Illinois men's golf program and comes exactly 100 years after the Fighting Illini won their first league title in 1923.

UP NEXT
The Fighting Illini will now await the selection of the 2023 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship field, which will be released as part of Golf Channel's College Central coverage on Wednesday, May 3 at 1 p.m. ET/12 p.m. CT.

NCAA Regionals are slated for May 15-17, and will be held at six sites: Auburn University Club (Auburn, Ala.; host: Auburn), The Cliffs at Keowee Falls (Salem, S.C.; host: Clemson), Eagle Eye Golf Club (Bath, Mich.; host: Michigan State), Bear's Best Las Vegas (Las Vegas, Nev.; host: UNLV), Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club (Norman, Okla.; host: Oklahoma), and The Institute Golf Club (Morgan Hill, Calif.; host: San Jose State).

It marks the 10^th Les Bolstad Award in Illinois program history, and makes Dumont de Chassart just the second Illini to earn the accolade twice, joining Charlie Danielson in 2014 and 2016. 

Illini Les Bolstad Award Winners
• Adrien Dumont de Chassart  (69.63 in 2023)
• Adrien Dumont de Chassart (70.15 in 2022)
• Michael Feagles (70.83 in 2021)
• Charlie Danielson (70.70 in 2016)
• Thomas Detry (70.26 in 2015)
• Charlie Danielson (71.07 in 2014)
• Luke Guthrie (70.90 in 2012)
• Chris DeForest (71.45 in 2010)
• James Lepp (71.41 in 2003)
• Steve Stricker (72.05 in 1988)

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