Illinois leads by six shots going into final round of qualifying for match play in NCAA Championship at La Costa

 

 

   After capturing the Big Ten title for eight years in a row, Illinois was denied by Northwestern in this year’s conference championship last month at Scioto Country Club near Columbus, Ohio.

   Ever since, it seems like the Fightin’ Illini are playing like they’re a little ticked off about having their streak of conference crowns snapped.

   Illinois stormed to the team crown in the Stanford Regional a couple of weeks ago and now, through three rounds of stroke-play qualifying for match play in the NCAA Championship at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa’s North Course, it is the Fightin’ Illini who are standing at the top of the heap.

   Illinois put together a sold 6-under-par 282, the best team round of the tournament, over the 7,538-yard, par-72 North Course layout in Sunday’s third round and will take a six-shot advantage over Atlantic Coast Conference power Virginia into the Memorial Day windup to qualifying for match play.

   It shouldn’t be that big of a surprise since Illinois was in the exact same position going into Memorial Day in the NCAA Championship a year ago at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. The Fightin’ Illini got into the match-play bracket a year ago and lost in the quarterfinals to Florida State.

   Illinois is in very good position to get into the match-play bracket again this year at La Costa as the Fightin’ Illini stood at 2-under 862 following Sunday’s solid round. The Fightin’ Illini are the only team under par through three rounds.

   It’s really a much different Illinois team and the Fightin’ Illini were led by a couple of guys who weren’t on their roster a year ago as Max Herendeen, a freshman from Bellevue, Wash., landed among a trio of players tied for fourth place in the individual standings and Tyler Goecke, a fifth-year player from Xenia, Ohio who was finishing up a very solid four years at Wright State last spring, was among a group of five players tied for seventh place.

   Herendeen, who captured the individual title in the Stanford Regional, carded a solid 1-under 71 in Sunday’s third round that left him at 2-under 214 and in a tie for fourth place. Goecke posted a sparkling 3-under 69 to join the group tied for seventh place at 1-under.

   Virginia had led Illinois by three shots following Saturday’s second round and the Cavaliers recorded a 3-over 291 in Sunday’s third round that left them six shots behind the Fightin’ Illini at 4-over 868.

   Virginia was led by Ben James, a sophomore from Milford, Conn. and No. 5 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) who tallied a 3-under 69 to get a share of second place at 3-under 213 along with Stanford’s Karl Vilips, a senior from Australia.

   Ohio State’s Adam Wallin, a senior from Sweden, took over the individual lead as he also tallied a 3-under 69 that gave him a two-shot lead over James and Vilips at 5-under 211.

   The Golf Channel cameras will be rolling Monday as the NCAA individual champion is crowned and the field is set for match play, which gets under way with the quarterfinals Tuesday morning.

   Southeastern Conference power Vanderbilt registered a solid 2-over 290 that left it five shots behind Virginia in third place at 9-over 873.

   Florida State, which reached the semifinals a year ago at Grayhawk, made its move in Sunday’s third round as the Seminoles, out of the ACC, recorded a solid 2-under 286 to move into fourth place, a shot behind Vanderbilt at 10-over 874.

   Illinois’ Big Ten rival Ohio State, behind Wallin, posted a 1-over 289 that left the surprising Buckeyes in fifth place, three shots behind Florida State at 13-over 877.

   ACC champion North Carolina and SEC champion Auburn landed in a tie for sixth place after three rounds, each sitting two shots behind Ohio State at 15-over 879 after the Tar Heels carded a 4-over 292 and the remarkably consistent Tigers tallied a third straight 5-over 293.

   Defending national champion Florida, another SEC representative, recorded a 1-under 287 in Sunday’s third round as the Gators elbowed their way into the top eight. They stood alone in eighth place, five shots behind North Carolina and Auburn at 20-over 884.

   The battle for those final spots in the match-play bracket is going to be heated one.

   Arizona, out of the disintegrating Pac-12, and Georgia Tech, an ACC representative that lost to Florida in the Final Match at Grayhawk a year ago, are tied for ninth place, each just a shot behind the Gators at 21-over 885.

   The Wildcats struggled a little while posting a 9-over 297 in Sunday’s third round while the Yellow Jackets bounced back from a 301 in Saturday’s third round with a solid 4-over 292.

   Backing up Herendeen and Goecke for Illinois was Ryan Voois, a sophomore from Ladera Ranch, Calif. who carded a 1-over 73 that left him in a tie for 25^th place at 3-over 219.

   Piercen Hunt, a senior from Hartland, Wis., signed for a 2-under 70 for the Illini that left him in the group tied for 34^th place at 5-over 221.

   Rounding out the Illinois lineup was Jackson Buchanan, a junior from Dacula, Ga. and No. 34 in the WAGR who matched par in Sunday’s third round to join the group tied for 40^th place at 6-over 222.

   Hunt and Buchanan were in the lineup for the Illini when they lost to Florida State in the quarterfinals a year ago at Grayhawk.

   It looked like Vilips was going to turn the individual chase into a runaway when he jumped out to a five-shot lead after adding a 4-under 68 in Saturday’s second round to his opening-round 69. Vilips backed off with a 4-over 76 in Sunday’s third round, although he’s still very much in the hunt for an NCAA individual crown in a tie for second place with Virginia’s James, just two shots behind Wallin at 3-under 213.

   There’s a ton of talent lined up behind the top three with designs on capturing an NCAA individual crown.

   Joining Herendeen in the tie for fourth place at 2-under were the formidable Gordon Sargent, a junior at Vanderbilt from Birmingham, Ala. and No. 2 in the WAGR, and Georgia Tech’s Hiroshi Tai, a sophomore from Singapore and No. 70 in the WAGR.

   Sargent, the NCAA individual champion as a freshman two springs ago at Grayhawk, was typically solid with a 2-under 70 in Sunday’s third round. Tai bounced back from a 5-over 77 in Saturday’s second round with a solid 2-under 70 of his own.

   The foursome that joined Illinois’ Goecke in the tie for seventh place at 1-under included Auburn’s Jackson Koivun, a freshman from Chapel Hill, N.C. and No. 4 in the WAGR, Florida State’s Luke Clanton, a sophomore from Hialeah, Fla. and No. 8 in the WAGR, Texas’ Christiaan Maas, a sophomore from South Africa and No. 16 in the WAGR, and Baylor’s Johnny Keefer, a graduate student from San Antonio, Texas and No. 36 in the WAGR.

   Koivun matched par with a 72 in Sunday’s third round, Clanton and Maas moved up the leaderboard as each recorded a 2-under 70 and Keefer registered a 1-under 71.

   Notre Dame, out of the ACC, failed to survive the 54-hole cut down to the final 15 teams in its first NCAA Championship appearance since 1966 as the Fighting Irish landed in a tie for 23^rd place with Big 12 power Oklahoma State at 43-over 907 total.

   But the final season for Notre Dame graduate student Palmer Jackson, the 2018 PIAA Class AAA champion as a senior at Franklin Regional, is ending on a positive note.

   Jackson matched par with a 72 in Sunday’s third round and will compete as an individual in Monday’s final round as he was tied for 16^th place at 1-over 217.

   Jackson’s Notre Dame teammate, Rocco Salvitti, a four-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Pittsburgh Central Catholic, saw his freshman season come to an end as he struggled to an 81 that left him in the group tied for 113^th place at 231. Still, really strong start to his college career for Salvitti, who earned himself a spot in the Notre Dame lineup last fall and refused to give it up.

   Auburn redshirt junior Carson Bacha, the 2019 PIAA Class AAA champion as a senior at Central York and No. 62 in the WAGR, will be playing in the final round of stroke-play qualifying for the third year in a row for the Tigers. Bacha’s hoping Auburn holds onto one of the spots in the match-play bracket and he gets to play in a quarterfinal match Tuesday.

   Bacha carded his second straight 3-over 75 in Sunday’s third round that left him in the group tied for 60^th place at 8-over 224.

   Pennsylvania’s most accomplished amateur golfer these days, Ohio State graduate student Neal Shipley, a member of Pittsburgh Central Catholic’s 2018 PIAA Class AAA championship team and No. 57 in the WAGR, and the Buckeyes are on the verge of claiming one of those eight spots in the match-play bracket.

   Shipley, the runnerup in last summer’s U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club in suburban Denver, recorded a 4-over 76 in Sunday’s third round that left him among the group tied for 57^th place at 7-over 223.

   Shipley found himself in Butler Cabin accepting the award for the low amateur in last month’s Masters Tournament after he was the only amateur to survive the cut and play four rounds. His playing partner for the final round was five-time Masters champion Tiger Woods.