Head coach Mike Small’s Illinois program has set the bar
very high for Big Ten golf for more than a decade and nobody else seems
able to answer the challenge the Fighting Illini issue season after season.
With a fifth straight Big Ten title in its sights after
entering Sunday’s final round at the Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Wissahickon
Course in Whitemarsh Township tied for the lead, Illinois went out and fired
the best team round of the weekend, a 2-under-par 278.
That was more than enough to make it 10 Big Ten crowns in
the last 11 years as Illinois, at No. 27 in the latest Golfstat rankings the highest-ranked team in the field, finished
with a 28-over 868 total, five shots better than No. 61 Purdue.
For the ninth straight year at the Big Ten Championship, the
Fighting Illini produced an individual champion as Adrien Dumont de Chassart, a
freshman from Belgium, fired a 4-under 66 over the 7,119-yard, par-70 A.W.
Tillinghast classic to share medalist honors with Minnesota’s Angus Flanagan, a
sophomore from England, at 2-over 212.
Purdue had grabbed the lead following the opening round with
a 2-over 282, but struggled to a 309 in Saturday’s wild winds. The Boilermakers
closed with another solid 2-over 282 Sunday to claim runnerup honors at 33-over
873.
I’m always guessing with how the rankings correlate to NCAA
regional bids, but if Purdue was on the bubble, its runnerup finish this
weekend certainly bolstered its resume. The NCAA regional fields will be unveiled
on The Golf Channel beginning at 9 p.m. EDT Wednesday.
No. 56 Michigan State probably helped itself when it comes
to earning a regional berth as the Spartans finished up with an 8-over 288
Sunday to finish 10 shots behind Purdue in third place at 43-over 883.
It was another two shots back to No. 106 Michigan in fourth
place at 45-over 885. The Wolverines deserve tons of credit for their
second-round 296, the low round of the day in Saturday’s epic winds. They
closed with a 10-over 290 Sunday.
No. 155 Nebraska and No. 131 Rutgers also outperformed their
rankings on a tough golf course in some tough conditions. The Cornhuskers
closed with a 6-over 286 Sunday to finish a shot behind Michigan in fifth place
at 46-over 886 and the Scarlet Knights had the second-best team round of the
weekend, an even-par 280, in Sunday’s final round to finish a shot behind
Nebraska in sixth place at 47-over 887.
No. 58 Penn State finally found its collective game with a
final round of 7-over 287 that enabled the Nittany Lions to finish 10th
in the 14-team field with a 58-over 898 total.
Dumont de Chassart made five birdies and a lone bogey in
leading the way for Illinois with his 66, matching the low round of the day
Sunday.
His countryman, Giovanni Tadiotto, a junior from Belgium,
fired a 2-under 68 that left him alone in seventh in the individual standings
at 6-over 216.
Varun Chopra, a sophomore home boy from Champaign, Ill.,
carded a final-round 75 to finish among the group tied for 11th at
10-over 220.
Michael Feagles, a junior from Scottsdale, Ariz., bounced
back from an 80 in Saturday’s winds with a 1-under 69 that moved him into a tie
for 16th in the final standings at 11-over 221.
As I mentioned in my post following the second round,
Tadiotto and Feagles were right in the middle of Illinois’ run to the NCAA
semifinals at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill. as freshmen two springs
ago. They delivered like the veterans they are Sunday.
Rounding out the Illinois lineup was Bryan Baumgarten, a
junior from Granite Bay, Calif. who never quite figured out the tough
Wissahickon Course. He carded his second straight 80 to finish among the group
tied for 63rd at 238.
The best round of the weekend remained the sizzling 5-under
65 that Flanagan opened with Friday. Like just about everybody, he had to
battle through the winds to post a 77 Saturday. He matched par in the final
round to get a share of the title at 2-over 212 and become the ninth Golden
Gopher to win a Big Ten individual title.
Michigan’s Charlie Pilon, a sophomore from Australia,
bettered par with a 1-under 69 to finish alone in third, a shot behind the
co-champions at 3-over 213.
Michigan State’s Donne Trosper, a senior from Canton, Mich.,
shared fourth place with Rutgers’ Christopher Gotterup, a sophomore from Little
Silver, N.J., at 4-over 214.
Trosper had grabbed the individual lead with his even-par 70
Saturday that might have been the best round of the weekend, considering the
conditions. He fell back with a 4-over 74 Sunday. Gotterup was solid all
weekend and closed with a 1-over 71.
Timmy Hildebrand, a senior from Westfield, Ind., and Jarle
Volden, a senior from Norway, led the way for Purdue as they finished on either
side of Illinois’ Tadiotto in sixth and eighth place, respectively, in the
individual standings.
Hildebrand closed with a 2-over 72 to end up at 5-over 215
and Volden matched par with a 70 to land on 8-over 218.
Rutgers’ Shaylar Dance matched Illinois’ Dumont de Chassart
for the low round of the day with a final round of 4-under 66 to sneak into the
top 10 as he shared ninth place with Maryland’s Peter Knade, a junior from
Easton, Md., at 9-over 219. Knade’s 1-over 71 Saturday was a really special
round and he closed with a 5-over 75 Sunday.
Alec Bard, a junior from New Hartford, N.Y., fired a 1-under
69 to lead the way for Penn State as he finished among the group tied for 29th
at 224.
Ryan Davis, a junior from Berkeley Heights, N.J., and
Charles Huntzinger, a senior from Duluth, Ga., both finished among the group
tied for 31st at 225. Davis closed with a solid 2-over 72 while
Huntzinger finished up with a 4-over 74.
Senior Ryan Dornes, the 2014 PIAA Class AAA runnerup as a
senior at Manheim Township, matched
Davis’ 2-over 72 and finished among the group tied for 39th at 226.
Davis’ 2-over 72 and finished among the group tied for 39th at 226.
Sophomore Lou Olsakovsky, an Upper St. Clair product, subbed
for senior JD Hughes, the 2017 Pennsylvania Amateur champion who starred
scholastically at Carlisle, for the final round and Olsakovsky carded a 6-over
76.
Bard, Davis, Huntzinger and Hughes are all veterans of the
Penn State team that battled through the Washington Regional to reach the NCAA
Championship at Rich Harvest Farms two springs ago. Here’s hoping they get
another shot at an NCAA regional when the fields are revealed Wednesday.
No comments:
Post a Comment