Big Ten champion Illinois surges to top of leaderboard after two rounds of NCAA Championship at Grayhawk

   A veteran Illinois team, the Big Ten champion, had the best round of the day, a 7-under-par 273 Saturday at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., to surge to the top of the leaderboard at the halfway point of stroke-play qualifying for match play in the NCAA Championship.

   Led by Adrien Dumont de Chassart, the Fighting Illini’s fifth-year player from Belgium and No. 11 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), Illinois, No. 3 in the latest Golfstat rankings, was the only team under par after the first two rounds at 2-under 558. Illinois had opened with a 5-over 285 in Friday’s first round.

   Dumont de Chassart carded his second straight 2-under 68 over Grayhawk’s 7,289-yard, par-70 Raptor Course to get a share of second place with Texas A&M’s Daniel Rodrigues, a junior from Portugal, in the individual standings at 4-under 136.

   That left them three shots behind individual leader Ross Steelman, a senior at Georgia Tech from Columbia, Mo. and No. 21 in the WAGR who added a 1-under 69 to his sizzling opening-round 64 for a 7-under 133 total.

   The NCAA’s individual champion will be crowned on a Memorial Day Monday.

   The team field will be cut in half from 30 teams to 15 teams following Sunday’s third round. The top eight teams at the end of four rounds of qualifying Monday will tee off in match play beginning Tuesday morning.

   Southeastern Conference champion Florida, ranked ninth, also had a solid second round with a 2-under 278 to move into second place in the team standings with a 1-over 561 total. Florida had opened with a 3-over 283.

   Florida was led by Fred Biondi, a senior from Brazil and No. 16 in the WAGR who added a 2-under 68 to his opening-round 69 and was alone in fourth place in the individual standings with a 3-under 137 total that left him a shot behind Dumont de Chassart and Rodrigues.

   Atlantic Coast Conference champion Georgia Tech, behind Steelman, the individual leader, was tied for third place with conference rival North Carolina, each sitting at 6-over 566, five shots behind Florida.

   The No. 11 Yellow Jackets had grabbed the individual lead after matching par in the opening round with a 280. They added a 6-over 286 in Saturday’s second round. The No. 2 Tar Heels added a 4-over 284 to their opening-round of 2-over 282.

   West Coast Conference power Pepperdine, ranked eighth, added a 7-over 287 to its opening round of 1-over 281 and was alone in fifth place with an 8-over 568 total, two shots behind Georgia Tech and North Carolina.

   Vanderbilt, the No. 1 team in the country, added an 8-over 288 to its opening round of 2-over 282 that left it two shots behind Pepperdine in sixth place with a 10-over 570 total.

   The Commodores, the runnerup to Florida in the SEC’s match-play final at Sea Island Golf Club’s Seaside Course on Saint Simons Island, Ga., and Pepperdine reached the semifinals of the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk a year ago.

   Two more ACC entries, No. 7 Florida State and No16 Virginia, were tied for seventh place, a shot behind Vanderbilt at 11-over 571.

   The Seminoles added a 7-over 284 to their opening round of 7-over 287 while the Cavaliers moved up the team leaderboard with a solid 1-over 281 after they had opened with a 10-over 290.

   Pac-12 Conference power Arizona State, playing close to home, made its move with a 1-over 281 landing the No. 4 Sun Devils in a tie for ninth place with SEC power Alabama at 12-over 572. Arizona State had opened with an 11-over 291.

   The No. 15 Crimson Tide also had a solid second round with a 2-over 282 after opening with a 10-over 290.

   Backing up Dumont de Chassart for Illinois was Jackson Buchanan, a sophomore from Dacula, Ga. who matched the 2-under 68 recorded by Dumont de Chassart and was one of five players tied for eighth place in the individual chase at 1-under 139 total.

   Tommy Kuhl, a fifth-year player from Morton, Ill. and No. 56 in the WAGR, added a 1-under 69 to his opening-round 72, giving the Fighting Illini a third player inside the top 20 as he was in the group tied for 19^th place at 1-over 141.

   Another fifth-year Belgian, Matthis Besard, gave the Fighting Illini a third 2-under 68 in Saturday’s third round that left him in the group tied for 42^nd place at 4-over 144. Bessard had opened with a 6-over 76.

   Rounding out the Illinois lineup was Piercen Hunt, a junior from Hartland, Wis. who added a 5-over 75 to his opening-round 74 and was in the group tied for 108^th place at 9-over 149.

   Texas A&M’s Rodrigues had the best round of the day, a sparkling 4-under 66, to get his share of second place with Dumont de Chassart at 4-under 136. Rodrigues had matched par in the opening round with a 70.

   Ohio State’s Neal Shipley, winner of last summer’s Pennsylvania Amateur at Llanerch Country Club, headed a trio of players tied for fifth place in the individual standings at 2-under 138, a shot behind Florida’s Biondi.

   Shipley, a member of Pittsburgh Central Catholic’s PIAA Class AAA championship team in 2018, is a fifth-year player for the Buckeyes after a standout career at James Madison. He carded a solid 2-under 68 in Saturday’s second round after matching par in the opening round with a 70.

   Shipley was joined at 2-under by North Carolina’s Dylan Menante, a senior from Carlsbad, Calif. and No. 14 in the WAGR, and New Mexico’s Matthew Watkins, a junior from Rockwall, Texas.

   Menante, who transferred to Chapel Hill after helping Pepperdine reach the semifinals at Grayhawk last spring, matched par in Saturday’s second round with a 70 after opening with a 2-under 68. After opening with a 4-under 66, Watkins cooled off a little with a 2-over 72 in Saturday’s second round.

   Joining Illinois’ Buchanan in the quintet tied for eighth place at 1-under 139 were Virginia’s Ben James, a freshman from Milford, Conn. and No. 7 in the WAGR, Florida’s Ricky Castillo, a senior from Yorba Linda, Calif. and No. 26 in the WAGR, San Francisco’s Matthew Anderson, a graduate student from Canada, and Stanford’s Barclay Brown, a senior from England and No. 59 in the WAGR.

   James, who has risen to the top of a talented freshman class across the country, added a 2-under 68 to his opening round of 1-over 71.

   Castillo, one of the heroes of the United States’ victory over Great Britain & Ireland in a rare spring Walker Cup Match two years ago at the iconic Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Fla., had the same splits as James, adding a 2-under 68 to his opening-round 71. Castillo went 4-0 in a hard-fought 14-12 victory for the U.S. at Seminole.

   Anderson and Brown had matching splits as well as each registered a 1-over 71 in Saturday’s second round after opening with a 2-under 68.

   Auburn junior Carson Bacha, the 2019 PIAA Class AAA champion as a senior at Central York and No. 86 in the WAGR, cooled off a little with a 2-over 72 in Saturday’s second round after he had opened with a 2-under 68, but he was in the group tied for 13^th place at even-par 140.

   Bacha’s Tigers, ranked 12^th, have a little work to do as they added a 6-over 286 to their opening-round 288 and were in a tie for 11^th place with SEC rival and 14^th-ranked Texas A&M at 14-over 574.

   Missed another state champion in my opening-day post as Nate Menon, the PIAA Class AA champion as a junior at Wyomissing in 2015, is a sixth-year player at Stanford. Menon added a 4-over 74 to his opening-round 77 and was in the group tied for 122^nd place at 11-over 151.

   The Pac-12 champion Cardinal, ranked sixth, are struggling a little in the desert as they added a 6-over 286 to their opening round of 10-over 290 and are tied for 13^th place with No. 28 Georgia, another SEC entry, and WCC champion Brigham Young, ranked 37^th, at 16-over 576.

   Texas Tech senior Jack Wall, a quarterfinalist in the 2019 BMW Philadelphia Amateur at Stonewall playing out of Manasquan River Golf Club, added a 4-over 74 to his opening-round 72 and was in the group tied for 67^th place with a 6-over 146 total.

   Wall and the No. 5 Red Raiders, a Big 12 power, are in 16^th place in the team standings at 17-over 577 as they struggled to a 295 after opening with a solid 2-over 282.

   Shipley and Ohio State, out of the Big 10 and ranked 23^rd, were tied for 20^th place with No. 28 Arkansas at 22-over 582 after the Buckeyes added a 295 to their opening round of 7-over 287.

   Chattanooga sophomore Garrett Engle, a Central Dauphin product, added a 3-over 73 to his opening-round 75 and was in the group tied for 96^th place with an 8-over 148 total.

   Engle and the Moccassins, out of the Southern Conference and ranked 41^st, were alone in 27^th place in the team standings at 594 after they added a 300 in Saturday’s second round to their opening-round 294.