Illinois Wins Big Ten Golf Title
The University of Illinois Men’s Golf Team won the Big Ten team title this past weekend by three strokes over Iowa and six strokes over Northwestern, posting a 21-over total. Sophmore Luke Guthrie’s steady play that helped the Illini withstand a charge from Iowa and Northwestern during Sunday’s final round at Windsong Farm Golf Club to repeat as the conference champions.
Guthrie shot an even-par 71, matching the lowest round Sunday of anyone in the top 12 and finishing fourth individually with a 2-over 286 total. birdied Nos. 7 and 9 to turn things around. He opened and closed the tournament with even-par rounds, posting his best individual finish this year. “I scored well this week,” Guthrie said. “I didn’t do anything great. I didn’t anything bad. I just found a way to put it in the hole.”
The last time Illinois won back-to-back Big Ten titles in men’s golf was 1940 and 1941. Counting the two Big Ten titles, Illinois now has won 13 tournaments in last two seasons and 16 tournaments in the past three years.
“It’s a testament to the kids,” Illinois head coach Mike Small said. “We talked about this three years ago when we finished third and set this as our goal. They bought in and have been resilient since then. They know how to win and close it out.”
Illinois earns the automatic bid from the Big Ten into the NCAA Regional. Assignments will be announced on Monday, May 10 for the six Regionals, which will be May 20-22. The top five teams at each regional advance to the NCAA Championships on June 1-5 in Chattanooga, Tenn.
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Written by: Walter Lis
Filed Under: Featured, Golf News
Tags: Luke Guthrie, Mike Small, University of Illinois
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