GALLOWAY, N.J. – In his Big Ten Championship debut, Matthis Besard didn’t waste any time in making an impact for the No. 3-ranked Fighting Illini.
The fifth-year senior transfer, who joined the Illinois program after four seasons at Southern Illinois, birdied No. 1 and closed the first round as the only competitor to shoot under par, leading the way as the Illini also staked to the top spot on the team leaderboard with 36 holes remaining in the hunt for the 2023 title.
Besard and the Illini not only battled windy conditions throughout the day, but also pushed through as heavier rain rolled in midway through their round at Galloway National Golf Club.
Despite the conditions, Besard followed his opening birdie with nine straight pars and a Birdie on No. 11 to move to 2-under. He then added a third birdie on No. 15, offsetting bogeys on No. 13 and 15 to close with a 70 (-1), with a one stroke lead over Northwestern’s Daniel Svard.
The rest of the Illinois lineup stacked up behind Besard, with all five Illini posting top-20 scores.
Adrien Dumont de Chassart, the reigning two-time Big Ten Golfer of the Year, carded a 72 (+1) to sit in a tie for third. Tommy Kuhl and Jackson Buchanan rounded out the scoring for the Illini in a tie for 13th at 75 (+4), while Piercen Hunt posted a 76 (+5) to move into a tie for 20th in the field of 70.
With the forecast calling for additional rain throughout the remainder of the weekend, head coach Mike Small‘s squad enters Saturday’s second round with a six stroke lead. The Illini closed the day with a 292 (+8) and will tee off tomorrow paired with second-place Northwestern (+14) and third-place Wisconsin (+15). Ohio State (+16) is fourth, and Iowa rounds out the top five of the team standings at 22-over.
Round 2 is set to begin with tee times on starting at 10 a.m. ET/9 a.m. CT. The Illini will begin on No. 1 at 10:45 a.m. ET/9:45 a.m. CT. Live scoring is available throughout the tournament on Golfstat.com. For more information, visit the 2023 Big Ten Men’s Golf Championship Central.
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