GALLOWAY, N.J. – The No. 3-ranked Fighting Illini men’s golf team claimed the 2023 Big Ten Championship on Sunday, cruising to the title by a 17-stroke margin, despite the eventual cancelation off the third and final round at rainy Galloway National Golf Club.
“It was a total team effort this weekend,” said head coach Mike Small, who has now led the Illini to a conference-record eight consecutive conference championships and 13 of 14 dating back to his first in 2009. “To lead by 17 shots in a two-round tournament, that takes a total team effort. To do that in just two rounds, not a three-round tournament, is a pretty big win.”
After starting, pausing, and re-starting Round 3 over the course of the morning, an early afternoon surge of heavy rain eventually forced the Big Ten to cancel the third round in progress, resulting in the official results reverting back to Saturday’s 36-hole tallies. As a result, the Illini posted a two-round score of 560 (-8), with all five members of the Orange and Blue lineup finishing inside the top 13.
“I’m happy because the team is happy,” added Small. “I’m happy because they work hard for these kinds of moments, when they have to stand up and play the game the way they want to play it. And when they do, it makes you happy as a coach. There are going to be times when we’re not going to win, times when it doesn’t go our way. But as long as we’re playing from strength, playing with optimism, and getting better and learning from our mistakes, I’m happy with it. Now we’ve strung a bunch of wins together because they are talented, they work hard, and they are competitors.”
Tommy Kuhl and Matthis Besard shared the bronze medal, finishing in a tie for third at 140 (-2), one stroke off the pace of co-champions Mac McClear of Iowa and Daniel Svard of Northwestern. Kuhl and Besard also earned spots on the Big Ten All-Championship team, joining teammates Adrien Dumont de Chassart and Jackson Buchanan who tied for fifth at 1-under.
Piercen Hunt also opened the day in contention and finished tied for 13th with a score of 144 (+2).
“That is the sign of a good team, when you compete against yourself just as much as you do with other teams,” said Small of his team’s individual positions near the top of the leaderboard. “We talk about, in our program, that we’re a team. But from No. 1 tee to…
..
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at University of Illinois Athletics…