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Men's Golf
Illinois men's golf notes for NCAA Championship
May 20, 2009
Champaign, Ill. - Complete Notes Package in PDF Format
Illinois qualifies for its 17th NCAA ChampionshipWhen: May 26-30, 2009Where: Inverness Golf Club, Toledo, Ohio Course Statistics: 7,255, Par 71 Format: 54 holes (18 each day on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday); Individual champion declared and top eight teams advance to Match-Play. Quarterfinals and Semifinals of Match Play are Friday. Championship match is Saturday. Teams: 30 plus six individuals (top five teams at each Regional plus one individual from a non-qualifying team from each Regional) Illinois advancement: Illinois advanced to the NCAA Championship after placing third at the Northeast Regional in Galloway, N.J. Parings: The seeds are determined by golfstat computer rankings. Illinois will be seeded 12th and play with tenth-seeded Georgia Tech and 11th-seeded Texas A&M during the first two rounds. Third-round parings will determined by placing after the first two rounds. Tee Times: The practice round will have a shotgun start at 9 a.m. EDT on Monday. The Illini players tee from 1:17-1:55 p.m. EDT in round one Tuesday and from 8:07-8:45 am EDT in round two Wednesday. Round three tee times will be determined by placing after the first two rounds. The Field (Golf/World Nike Coaches Poll Rankings): #1 Georgia, #2 Oklahoma State, #3 Washington, #4 USC, #6 Stanford, #7 Georgia Tech, #8 Florida, #9 Arkansas, #10 Illinois, #11 Alabama, #12 South Carolina, #14 Arizona State, #15 TCU, #16 Texas A&M, #19 Texas Tech, #20 UCLA, #21 Central Florida, #23 Tennessee, #24 Texas, #25 Oregon, Arizona, Chattanooga, Duke, Iowa, Michigan, Northwestern, Ohio State, San Diego, Virginia, Wake Forest History: Illinois is making its 17th appearance as a team at an NCAA Championship this week. This is the fourth appearance in the last eight years, all under head coach Mike Small. Illinois' All-Time NCAA Finishes: 1931 -- 5th 1940 -- 5th 1941 -- 4th 1949 -- 19th 1950 -- 8th 1951 -- T19th 1956 --T22nd 1957 -- 22nd 1961 -- 21st 1984 -- 29th 1988 -- T23rd 1989 -- T23rd 1999 -- 15th 2002 -- 18th 2003 -- 21st 2008 -- 17th Illinois' All-Time NCAA Regional Appearances 1989 -- 5th at Central Regional* 1990 -- 11th at Central Regional 1999 -- 7th at Central Regional* 2002 -- 4th at Central Regional* 2003 -- 2nd at Central Regional* 2004 -- T18th at Central Regional 2008 -- 3rd at Central Regional* * Qualified for NCAA Championships Best Individual Illinois Finishers at NCAA: Format Changes this year for NCAA Championship: This season the NCAA made two major changes to the Men's Golf Championship format. Big Ten ahead of the curve on Match Play: The Big Ten Conference was the first conference to prepare for the Match Play conducted a Big Ten Match Play on Feb. 13-14 in Coral Springs, Fla. Illinois placed fourth in event. Big Ten advances five teams to NCAA Illinois paces nation with seven tournament wins Barlow victorious against two of nation's best Olympia Fields title comes over many top teams Illinois a young team with a lot of experience Illini post best stroke averages in school history Name Year Average 1. James Lepp 2002-03 71.41 2. Steve Stricker 1988-89 71.52 3. Steve Stricker 1987-88 72.05 4. Scott Langley 2008-09 72.12 5. D.A. Points 1998-99 72.14 6. Patrick Nagle 2002-03 72.35 7. Geoff Lound 2001-02 72.64 8. Luke Guthrie 2008-09 72.68 9. Garrett Chaussard 2004-05 72.89 10. Chris DeForest 2008-09 72.97 Illinois wins first Big Ten title in 21 seasons For Illinois head coach Mike Small, who played on Illinois' last Big Ten title in 1988, it's a culmination of many close calls. In his previous eight seasons as head coach, the Illini have three seconds (in 2002, 2003 and 2004) and one third (in 2008). Illinois wins its seventh conference championship overall and do so without a senior on the squad. The victory, as it has been all season, was a total team effort. After a first round 76, Chris DeForest put together rounds of 70, 69 and 71 on the 7,202-yard par 71 Blue Course to finish at third +2 (286), just three shots behind individual medalist Eric Chun of Northwestern (-1) and two back of Penn State's Kevin Foley (E). Junior Matt Hoffman, whose 69 in round two was key for getting Illinois in position to make the charge, finished seventh at +4 (288). Freshman Luke Guthrie, whose tournament was highlighted by an eagle on nine in round three, tied for ninth at +6 (290) after a final round of even par 71. That gives Illinois three players in the top ten. Still it was the first player out Sunday that really set the tone. Junior Zach Barlow jumped 27 spots in the final day into a tie for 17th at +11 after a three-under par 68, which tied Chun for the best round of the tournament. • The championship was also Illinois' second since 1941. The Fighting Illini also won titles in 1923, 1927, 1930, 1931 and 1940. Mike Small named Big Ten Coach of the Year: Illinois qualified for the NCAA Regionals for the fourth time in Small's nine seasons and is advancing to its fourth NCAA Tournament The Illini finished 18th in the NCAA in 2002, 21st in 2003 and 17th last season. The conference title for Illinois came after four top three-finishes in the past seven seasons, second in 2002, 2003 and 2004 and third in 2008. Balance keys Illinois success: Illinois continues to be successful because of its depth this season. Langley, DeForest named First Team All-Big Ten Langley has finished in the top 12 in eight of 10 tournaments this year, including titles at the D.A. Weibring Invitational and the FAU Spring Invitational. He also placed fourth at Olympia Fields. Langley has three titles to his credit in his young career, having also won the Argonaut Invitational in 2008. As a freshman, he nearly made the cut for the final round of the NCAA Championship. Langley leads Illinois with a 72.12 scoring average this season with 12 rounds under par and four at even par. His round of 64 at the D.A Weibring Invitational is a career best. Langley was named Big Ten Golfer of the Week on March 4, after having helped Illinois win the Tinervin Cup and April 1 after winning the Spring Break Invite. DeForest has been the top player for Illinois during the spring, having posted top-four finishes in four straight tournaments. His 72.89 scoring average leads the team during the spring. The sophomore posted rounds of 70, 69 and 71 at the Big Ten Championship to tie for third individually. DeForest tied for fourth at both the FAU Spring Break Invitational and the Marshall Invitational followed by a third-place showing at the Boilermaker Invitational. He also was third at the Windon Memorial in the fall. The sophomore has nine rounds under par and four rounds of even par this season, including a 64 at the Windon Memorial. He has four rounds in the 60s in the past four tournaments. DeForest placed in the top ten at Big Tens for the second straight year, having placed 10th a year ago.
Former Illini make name for themselves Stricker, who finished second in the 2007 Fed Ex Cup, which included a post-season victory at The Barclays, has four victories on tour -- the 1996 Kemper Open, the 1996 Motorola Western Open and the 2001 World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championships. • D.A. Points earned his PGA Tour Card for the second time in his career. The 1999 University of Illinois graduate and two-time All-Big Ten performer has played in 13 tournaments in 2009, making the cut eight times and posting two top 10s. He was a regular on tour in both 2005 and 2006 with 27 cuts made and one top ten in 61 tournaments. He has over $1.3 million in career earnings on the PGA Tour and over $1 million in earning in two seasons as a regular on the Nationwide Tour. • Last year Illinois had three alums participate in the U.S. Open -- Garrett Chaussard `03, Stricker and Points. Both Points and Chaussard made the field through Local and Sectional Qualifying. • Former Illinois Joe Affrunti `04 and Patrick Nagle `06 and current sophomore Scott Langley have each made it through local qualifying this year while Chaussard is an alternate for the Sectional. Nagle shot 69 at the French Lick Resort in French Lick, Ind., on May 11; Affrunti shot 72 at Prestwick Country Club in Frankfort, Ill., on May 11; and Langley shot 67 at the Illini Country Club in Springfield, Ill., on May 18. Sectional qualifying is May 25 and June 8. Head Coach Mike Small continues to post strong showing professionally:
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