No. 2 Illini Tied For Lead at Suspended Dayton Flyer Invite

KETTERING, Ohio – The No. 2-ranked Fighting Illini overcame some blustery conditions and mid-day struggles on Monday, closing Day 1 of the Dayton Flyer Invitational tied atop the team standings.

The Illini sit at +19 in a tie with Wright State, as play was halted by darkness with 2-3 holes remaining in the second round at NCR Country Club.

“The conditions were difficult; it was very cold – 40 degrees with 25 mile per hour winds – and the course was playing firm and fast,” head coach Mike Small said. “So the conditions weren’t great, but everybody had to play them.

“At the end of the first round, the beginning of the second round, we had to persevere through, and I think for the most part we did. We’re still making too many unforced errors that we’ve got to clean up. We’ve got our work cut out for us tomorrow.”

Illinois’ trio of fifth-year seniors are leading the charge again, with Tommy Kuhl and Matthis Besard tied for sixth at 3-over through 34 and 33 holes, respectively, and Adrien Dumont de Chassart at 6-over in a tie for 15^th with three holes remaining in his second round.

Besard’s day was highlighted by a hole-in-one on the 204-yard, par-3 13^th in Round 2.  The ace was part of a four-hole stretch in which he jumped from 4-over to even par. The run began with a birdie on 12 and was bookended by another birdie on 15.

Junior Piercen Hunt is the fourth Illini in the top-20 entering the final day of action at 7-over through 33 holes. Sophomore Jackson Buchanan is one stroke behind Hunt in a tie for 27^th with two holes remaining.

Seniors Nico Lang and Jerry Ji are also in action, competing as individuals. Lang is tied with Hunt in a share of 20^th, while Ji is 12-over in a tie for 43^rd in the 83-player field.

Play is set to resume Tuesday morning, with the start time pushed back to 11 a.m. ET/10 a.m. CT due to an overnight frost warning. The final 2-3 holes of Round 2 will be completed, followed by Round 3. Live scoring is available throughout the day at Golfstat.com.

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