Sept. 10, 2008

Champaign, Ill. - Four of the five men that represented Illinois at the NCAA Championship last year emerged out of the fall qualifying for the Illini men's golf team. The Illini, who is listed third in the list of teams receiving votes in the pre-season coaches poll, opens the season this weekend at the Wolf Run Intercollegiate in suburban Indianapolis.

The tournament is hosted by Indiana and features Kent State, who finished sixth at last year's NCAA Championship and four Big Ten teams - Illinois, the host Hoosiers, Michigan and Purdue. Rounding out the 14-team field at the par-71 7,195-yard Wolf Run Golf Club are Louisville, Kentucky, Ball State, Missouri, Toledo, Eastern Michigan, North Florida, IUPUI and Princeton.

Golf World projects Illinois to finish second in the Big Ten behind Indiana while Purdue and Michigan and picked fifth and sixth, respectively, so this will be a good early season test for the Illini. Illinois will send sophomore Scott Langley, last year's Big Ten Freshman of the Year, sophomore Chris DeForest, juniors Zach Barlow and Matt Hoffman, and freshman Mason Jacobs to the Wolf Run this week.

The 2007-08 season was another breakout season for Illinois golf. The Illini reached the NCAA Regional for the fourth time in seven seasons and placed 17th at the NCAA National Championship. With Illinois returning all five men who competed at the NCAA Finals, the Illini are determined to make the 2007-08 season a springboard for long term success.

Illinois finished out of the top three just once in the spring heading up to the NCAA Championship and found themselves in the final grouping at both the Big Ten and NCAA Regional meets, placing third at both.

The Illini won multiple team titles for the first time since 2003 and saw three different student-athletes win individual medalist for the first time in school history. They included DeForest, Langley and Hoffman.

Throw in a pair of freshmen who have combined to win five Illinois High School Association (IHSA) state titles, and the Illini have an even stronger nucleus of players.

Langley not only won the Argonaut Invitational to start the spring, but he posted three top-four finishes and an 11th during the spring. That stretch was highlighted by a fourth-place finish at the Big Ten Championship, which helped him earn Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors.

Langley had his second straight productive summer, reaching the round of 16 in match play at the North & South Amateur and the round of 32 at the U.S. Public Links Championship.

DeForest made the first big splash of the freshman class, setting the school record 18-hole mark with a remarkable 63 in the final round of the D.A. Weibring Invitational in the fall en route to the individual title while helping the Illini to the team title. DeForest was in Illinois' line-up in the final five meets of the year, including a 10th-place finish at the Big Ten Championship.

Like DeForest, Hoffman really emerged in the spring. He followed Langley in being named Big Ten Golfer of the Week after a ninth-place showing at the Louisiana Classic. Hoffman showed consistency with five showings of 12th or better, including the tournament title at the Fighting Illini Spring Invitational in April.

Blatt emerged right away in the fall last year after transferring from Ole Miss. He contended for a top-five spot at the competitive Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational before finishing a respectable 15th. He placed seventh at the D.A. Weibring and 11th at the Wolverine @ Mission Inn to finish with top stroke average of 72.92 on the team during the fall. Blatt re-emerged for the stretch run, placing 11th at the NCAA Regional and spent the last events in the line-up.

Barlow was in the line-up for the final eight tournaments of the year. Barlow posted a career-best 68 in the second round of the D.A. Weibring en route to a tie for fourth individually. He followed that up with a sixth at the final event of the fall, the Wolverine @Mission Inn, and a tie for fourth at the first event of the first event of the spring, the Argonaut Invitational.

Local favorite, sophomore Clayton Parkhill, promises to be in the mix after an impressive summer. Parkhill swept the big two events in town, winning his second U of I Open with a 20-foot birdie putt on the final hole of the tournament, then sinking a 60-footer on the second playoff hole to win his third Twin City Open, which competes at Urbana, Champaign, and Lincolnshire Fields Country Clubs.

A pair of talented freshmen join the six returnees. The signing of Luke Guthrie particularly turned the heads of the golf world. Guthrie has been ranked as high as seventh in the Polo American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) national rankings, including fifth in the Class of 2008. In 2007, he claimed his second Class 3A state tournament by five strokes.

Jacobs became the IHSA's first three-time state champion ever after defending his title for the second time. He won the Class A title in 2005 and '06 and claimed the Class 2A crown in 2007. Jacobs has been honored as the Southern Illinois Male Golfer of the Year three times and was named to the All-South Golf team four times.