Nov. 19, 2009

Champaign, Ill. - Illinois junior Scott Langley will become the first Illini golfer ever to compete in the Western Refining All-American Golf Classic next week. The tournament, which includes 32 All-Americans from last season, will be held at the El Paso Country Club in El Paso, Texas, on Nov. 22-24. The event, which dates back to 1974, is sponsored by the Sun Bowl Association.

"Its kind of a new thing for me. I have never played this tournament before so I am looking forward to playing against some of the best players in college golf and see how my game stacks up against them," Langley said.

The Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index rated the tournament field the toughest in the country for the fifth consecutive season.

"We have another strong field," said Bob Kimble, tournament director. "We could not be more excited, this is a quality collection of the top amateur golfers in the world."

The field includes last season's NCAA Division I Player of the Year Matt Hill (North Carolina State), Freshman of the Year Morgan Hoffmann (Oklahoma State) and six preseason All-American selections, Langley included. Other Big Ten golfers invited to the tournament include Penn State's Kevin Foley, Michigan's Lion Kim and Alexander Sitompul, and Ohio State's Bo Hoag.

Many past champions have gone on to successful PGA Tour Careers, including Davis Love III, Billy Mayfair, David Duval, Ricky Barnes, and Tiger Woods.

"It would mean a lot to win, not only because all the great players who have won in the past, but because of all the players that are going to be there. Every year it's a really strong field because you have some of the best players returning from last years season."

Langley said that preparing for this tournament will be no different from preparing for any other tournament.

"When I get to the golf course, whether it be for myself or the team, all I can control is what I do. I try to prepare the same way, work as hard as I can to try to get ready as much as I can," Langley said.

Golfers will play 36 holes on Monday and finish up with a single round of 18 holes on Tuesday. The event kicks off on Sunday with the Titleist Long Drive Contest and PING Putting Contest.

"I really don't have a lot of expectations other than just to go down there and have fun, and try to play my best," Langley said.