May 29, 2008

NCAA DAY 2 PHOTO GALLERY
Complete Results in PDF Format
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West Lafayette, Ind. -

The Illinois score was the same as the first round, but round two definitely had a different feel to it. Illini freshmen Scott Langley and Chris DeForest took turns at making a run at the top five and shooting under par. As a team, the Illini were as high as third and sixth midway through their round. But a difficult back nine brought Illinois back to the pack as the Illini are tied for 13th at +28 after two days of the NCAA Championships.

Illinois shot +14 (302) for the second day in a row and even in 13th place, the Illini are just five strokes out of the top 10. The top 15 scores after Friday's round make the cut to compete in the fourth and final round Saturday. The Illini will tee it up between 7:35-8:13 a.m. CDT Friday. With the forecast calling for rain, the top 15 teams will go off in the morning and organizers reserve the right to cancel the afternoon rounds if weather persists and send the morning 15 teams into the final round. Therefore being in the top 15 after 36 holes is significant.

"We shot the same score as we did yesterday, but I thought the conditions were a lot softer and lot easier," said Illinois head coach Mike Small in assessing the round. "We're still in the top 15 which is a big deal here, but the opportunity was there to come at them today, and we didn't bring enough firepower to get it done."

After a first round 75, DeForest started the day in a tie for 23rd, but his two-under-par 70 means that he is tied for eighth individually at +1 after 36 holes. Steve Stricker has Illinois' only other top-ten individual place at the NCAA with a ninth-place showing in 1988.

Although the thick rough at the 7,400-yard Kampen Course continued to be the topic of those around the tournament, the lesser winds and higher temperatures meant scores overall were improved. Clemson topped the list with the tournament's first even par round 288 giving the Tigers the lead at +13 overall. UCLA bettered its score from Wednesday by four strokes and sits a stroke back in second at +14 followed by Florida (+17 after a +6 round) and Oklahoma State (+18 after a +10 round). Washington moved up three spots to sixth at +19 after posting the second-best team score of the day (+2).

The individual race is as tight as the team with Billy Horschel of Florida firing a 67 to lead the tournament at -5 followed by Kyle Stanley of Clemson (-4) and Washington's Nick Taylor (-3), who had the best round of the day with a six-under par 66.

DeForest is just two strokes behind USC's Tim Sluiter for the top freshman score in the tournament. Sluiter is sixth at -1. DeForest heated up starting at the eighth hole with three straight birdies and six in his next 10 holes before double bogeying 18. His birdie on 12 came on the third toughest hole on the course.

"Chris' day really saved us," Small said. "He really played well. It was a big positive spot for him, and he came to our rescue today. He putted well and kept it in play. That's a recipe for any good round. He's a rhythm player that gets on streaks. That's the sign of a younger player, but a talented one."

"I was two over through six holes, but really turned it around," DeForest said of his round. "I got focused, started putting well, and didn't make a lot of mistakes. Those were the keys to my round today. I put a lot of pressure on myself, but once I start playing well, I get comfortable. Last tournament my teammates really bailed me out, so I'm glad to be able to help the team today with my round."

Langley started the day in a tie for 10th with a two-over par 74 Wednesday. He put together three straight birdies on three, four and five to move to even par for the tournament and into the top five. Langley played the rest of the round, however, at +6 and ends the day in a tie for 32nd at +6 after scoring a 76. Sophomores Zach Barlow (T71, +10) and Matt Hoffman shot 78, the other counters for the Illini. Larry Blatt, meanwhile, shot 79.

"We need to be a little more efficient around the greens tomorrow," Small said. "That's where we gave a lot of shots away. But, tomorrow is a new day. It has nothing to do with how we played today. We're still in decent position and have a chance to have a really good showing."