Five Illini, Small Earn Big Ten Postseason Awards
BIG TEN RELEASE // ILLINOIS MEN’S GOLF MEDIA BOX
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Fighting Illini men's golf was recognized by the Big Ten on Wednesday morning as the conference announced its annual postseason awards.
Fifth-year senior
Adrien Dumont de Chassart was again the unanimous selection for the conference's top honor as he captured his third consecutive Big Ten Golfer of the Year award. Dumont de Chassart was joined on the Big Ten All-Conference first team by fellow fifth-year seniors
Tommy Kuhl and
Matthis Besard, and sophomore
Jackson Buchanan. Junior
Piercen Hunt was tabbed as a second-team All-Big Ten performer. Kuhl was also named as the Illini's recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award for the second time, and head coach
Mike Small took home his record 13th Big Ten Coach of the Year laurel.
Dumont de Chassart, who last week was selected as
Illinois' Big Ten Medal of Honor recipient, takes home the Illinois program's 14th Big Ten Golfer of the Year award. In doing so, he becomes the first Illini men's athlete to win his sport's Big Ten Athlete of the Year honor three times, and joins Illini volleyball Hall of Famer Mary Eggers, who won Big Ten Volleyball Player of the Year in 1986, 1987, and 1988, as only the second Illinois athlete to complete the feat. Overall, he is just the third golfer in Big Ten history to take home the award three times, joining Randy Leen of Indiana (from 1996-98) and Luke Donald of Northwestern (from 1999-2001).
Dumont de Chassart, is a unanimous first-team All-B1G selection for the second straight year, his fourth-career all-conference award following first-team nods in 2021 and 2022, and a second-team selection as a freshman in 2019. A 2023 Ben Hogan Award semifinalist, Dumont de Chassart is coming off of his fourth All-Big Ten Championship Team performance with a tie for fifth to help lead the Illini to their eighth consecutive Big Ten title at Galloway (N.J.) National Golf Club last weekend. Following the rain-shortened event in which the Illini won by 17 strokes over just 36 holes, Dumont de Chassart was presented with his second straight Les Bolstad Award as the golfer with the league's best average (69.63), the lowest mark on record since the award's inception in 1974 and on pace to set the program record he established last season. Dumont de Chassart captured his fourth collegiate victory this season at the Fighting Illini Spring Collegiate, and has top-16 finishes all 11 events on the year, including three additional runner-ups. He closed as Illinois first- or second-place finisher in eight events, pacing the squad in a team-leading five tournaments, and has tallied a team-most 24 (out of 32) rounds at par or better.
Kuhl's first-team All-Big Ten honor marks the second consecutive all-conference selection of his career, after also earning first-team in 2022. The Morton, Ill., native has continued to build off of his stellar 2021-22 season, to again rank among the nation's top performers. He is second on the team with a season stroke average of 70.25, more than a full stroke ahead of his previous season-best (71.85) set last season. Kuhl placed as the Illini's top finisher in four events this season, the second-most on the team behind Dumont de Chassart. Entering NCAA Regionals, he has 11 consecutive top-16 finishes, including a team-leading seven top-5s. Kuhl, who has been selected to represent Team USA at the 2023 Arnold Palmer Cup, shot a career-low-tying score of 65 (-6) in the final round of the Hal Williams Collegiate, to finish with a career-low 54-hole total of 203 (-10) and earn the best finish (T2nd) of his career as an Illini. He then matched his career-low in the second round of the 2023 Big Ten Championship at Galloway National Golf Club, en route to a tie for third (bronze medalist) and a spot on the All-Big Ten Championship team. He is tied for the team lead with 24 of 32 rounds at par or better, ranks second with 11 rounds in the 60s, and is second on the team with four tournaments in which he
Besard, a fifth-year senior in his first year with the Illini after four seasons at Southern Illinois, earns his first All-Big Ten honor. He has played in all 11 tournaments for the Illini and is coming off of the Big Ten Championship in which he tied with Kuhl for third place to earn a bronze medal and a spot on the All-Big Ten Championship team. On the season, he has tallied seven top-25 finishes, and closed as the Illini's top finisher twice, at the National Invitational Tournament and the Big Ten Championship. Overall, he has carded 18 of 32 rounds at par or better on the season, and has notched seven rounds in the 60s, including a season-low 66 (-6) in the final round of the Tiger Collegiate Invitational.
Buchanan earns his first All-Big Ten honor as a unanimous first-team selection. As a sophomore, the Dacula, Ga., native picked up right where he left off, playing in all 11 events for the Illini and ranking third on the team with a stroke average of 71.06, almost two full strokes better than his previous season-best of 72.84 set as a freshman. He has recorded nine top-25 finishes with four top 5s, including his first-career victory at the Tiger Collegiate Invitational (April 10-11) in which he shot 66-62-66 to set a program-record score of 194 (-22). His Round 2 score of 62 (-10) also broke the program record for a single round score, and the Illini closed the event with the program-record for a 54-hole team score. Buchanan ranks third on the team with 19 of 32 rounds at par or better, including 10 rounds in the 60s.
Hunt's second-team All-Big Ten selection is the second of his career after also earning a second-team nod in 2022. The junior from Hartland, Wis., ranks fifth on the team with a season stroke average of 72.14 over 30 rounds after competing in 10 of 11 events through the Big Ten Championship. He has recorded top-15 finishes in five tournaments, including a tie for 13th at the Big Ten Championship. Hunt also posted a pair of top 5s at the Tiger Collegiate Invitational (5th) and the Fighting Illini Spring Collegiate (3rd). He shot a career-low score of 64 (-8) in the second round of the Tiger Collegiate, helping the Illini to a school-record for a 54-hole team score, and finished with a tournament score of 202 (-14), a personal best for a 54-hole collegiate event. On the season, he has posted 14 of his 30 rounds at par or better.
Kuhl was also recognized with the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award for the second straight season. The students chosen for the Sportsmanship Award are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These students must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. In addition to his performances on the course, Kuhl has been an Academic All-America nominee, a three-time academic All-B1G selection, two-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honoree, and a three-time Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar.
The Fighting Illini will now await the selection of the 2023 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship field, which will be released as part of Golf Channel's College Central coverage today at 1 p.m. ET/12 p.m. CT.
NCAA Regionals are slated for May 15-17, and will be held at six sites: Auburn University Club (Auburn, Ala.; host: Auburn), The Cliffs at Keowee Falls (Salem, S.C.; host: Clemson), Eagle Eye Golf Club (East Lansing, Mich.; host: Michigan State), Bear's Best Las Vegas (Las Vegas, Nev.; host: UNLV), Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club (Norman, Okla.; host: Oklahoma), and The Institute Golf Club (Morgan Hill, Calif.; host: San Jose State).
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