No. 2 Illini Overcome Elements for Dayton Flyer Invitational Title

KETTERING, Ohio – The No. 2-ranked Fighting Illini men’s golf team overcame the elements, in addition to strong pushes from runner-up Marquette and 36-hole leader Wright State, to close out the 13-team Dayton Flyer Invitational with the Orange and Blue’s second tournament championship of the season. The win also secured a milestone victory for head coach Mike Small.

With blustery, windy, and wet conditions that kept the temps in the mid-to-low 40s throughout the two-day event, the Illini found themselves two shots back after Round 1, and one off the pace of the Raiders when Round 2 was completed on Tuesday morning. But the Illini, behind a third-consecutive top-five finish from fifth-year senior Tommy Kuhl, recorded the low-team score in both Rounds 2 and 3, to move past WSU and hold off MU for the four-stroke win, the 80^th of Small’s career at the helm of his alma mater.

Kuhl, who opened the season with a fifth-place finish at the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational, and tied for fifth last month at the Folds of Honor Collegiate, tied for fourth to secure the eighth top-five finishes in his collegiate career. The Morton, Ill., native tied for fourth with a 54-hole score of 218 (+5), finishing five strokes behind individual medalist Tyler Jones of Marshall (213).

Kuhl was one of four members of the Illini lineup to notch top-15 scores. Matthis Besard closed with a 72 (+1) and jumped four spots into a tie for sixth with a three-round score of 219 (+6). Jackson Buchanan also carded a final round score of 72 and moved up seven spots into a tie with Adrien Dumont de Chassart for 14^th with a 54-hole tally of 222 (+9). Piercen Hunt, the fifth member of the Illini carded a 230 (+17) to tie for 39^th.

Nico Lang, competing as an individual, posted his first collegiate top-10 finish in a 54-hole, stroke-play  event. Lang bounced back from an opening 78 to shoot 70-72 in Rounds 2 and 3 and finished at 220 (+7) overall in a tie for ninth place. Jerry Ji also competed as an individual for the Illini, and matched Hunt for a share of 39^th with rounds of 77-76-77.

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