Round 2 Results | Round 3 Tee Times
GALLOWAY, N.J. – The No. 3-ranked Fighting Illini men's golf team extended its lead at the Big Ten Championship on Saturday as scores dropped to coincide with improving weather on Day 2 at Galloway National Golf Club.
Following a 30-minute delay in the morning, the rain and wind threatened early before giving way to some nicer conditions late in the round, allowing the Orange and Blue to shoot the lowest team round of the day, a 16-under 268, and push their six stroke lead to 17 heading into Sunday's finale.
"When you're playing team golf, you can never be satisfied with where you are because there are so many moving parts, and so many things that add up to a team score," head coach Mike Small said. "You've got to keep moving, you've got to keep going. Just like the way we turned on the jets on that back nine. We asked the guys to do it, and they responded."
A day after Matthis Besard posted the only under-par score in Round 1, all five members of the Illini lineup were in the red, led by a short-lived course-record rounds from sophomore Jackson Buchanan and fifth-year senior Tommy Kuhl, who shot 66 (-5) and 64 (-6), respectively.
Buchanan finished his round just one hole ahead of Kuhl, who overtook the course record from his teammate before ultimately being surpassed, just a few minutes later, by Purdue's Herman Sekne who carded a 62 (-9) for the lowest individual round of the day.
The rounds by Kuhl and Buchanan, however, were enough to put four Illini within striking distance of the individual title with 18 holes to play. Kuhl moved to 2-under, matching Besard in a tie for third place just one stroke off the pace of 36-hole co-leaders Mac McClear of Iowa and Daniel Svard of Northwestern.
Buchanan is now tied with teammate Adrien Dumont de Chassart at 141 (-1). Dumont de Chassart, who claimed the 2019 Big Ten individual title as a freshman, carded a 2-under 69 in Round 2 to remain in contention.
Piercen Hunt also finds himself in the mix. The Illini junior enters Round 3 in a tie for 13th with a 36-hole score of 144 (+2), bouncing back from an opening 76 with a 3-under 68 on Saturday.
As a team, the Illini's 268 (-16) was 10 shots ahead of the next closest team round, a 278 from Indiana. Northwestern was one shot shy of Indiana for the day, and sits behind the Illini with a two-round total of 577 (+9). NU is six strokes ahead of third-place Wisconsin (+15). The Hoosiers are fourth at 18-over, while Ohio State and Iowa round out the top five in a tie at 21-over.
Despite the team's cushion, and the looming threat of more inclement weather, the Illini remain focused on closing out the tournament which would secure the program's eighth consecutive B1G Championship, their 13th of 14 since 2009, and the program's 20th overall Big Ten Title.
"The goal for tomorrow is to go out and try to win the day," Small added. "We won today's round, now we want to win tomorrow's.
"All you can do is take care of your own business. Stay in your own space, and take care of your own business. We can't play defense in golf. We can't worry about anybody else. We have to go out and take care of our mindset, control our space, accept the conditions of the weather and the course, and be ready to play and compete like Illini."
Round 3 is set to begin with tee times at 8 a.m. ET/7 a.m. CT. The Illini, paired with the Wildcats and Badgers, will tee off starting at 8:45 a.m. ET/7:45 a.m. CT. Live scoring is available throughout the tournament at Golfstat.com. For more information, visit the 2023 Big Ten Men's Golf Championship Central.
FOLLOW THE #ILLINI
For more Fighting Illini men's golf news, stay tuned to FightingIllini.com and follow @IlliniMGolf on social media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook.
GALLOWAY, N.J. – The No. 3-ranked Fighting Illini men's golf team extended its lead at the Big Ten Championship on Saturday as scores dropped to coincide with improving weather on Day 2 at Galloway National Golf Club.
Following a 30-minute delay in the morning, the rain and wind threatened early before giving way to some nicer conditions late in the round, allowing the Orange and Blue to shoot the lowest team round of the day, a 16-under 268, and push their six stroke lead to 17 heading into Sunday's finale.
"When you're playing team golf, you can never be satisfied with where you are because there are so many moving parts, and so many things that add up to a team score," head coach Mike Small said. "You've got to keep moving, you've got to keep going. Just like the way we turned on the jets on that back nine. We asked the guys to do it, and they responded."
A day after Matthis Besard posted the only under-par score in Round 1, all five members of the Illini lineup were in the red, led by a short-lived course-record rounds from sophomore Jackson Buchanan and fifth-year senior Tommy Kuhl, who shot 66 (-5) and 64 (-6), respectively.
Buchanan finished his round just one hole ahead of Kuhl, who overtook the course record from his teammate before ultimately being surpassed, just a few minutes later, by Purdue's Herman Sekne who carded a 62 (-9) for the lowest individual round of the day.
The rounds by Kuhl and Buchanan, however, were enough to put four Illini within striking distance of the individual title with 18 holes to play. Kuhl moved to 2-under, matching Besard in a tie for third place just one stroke off the pace of 36-hole co-leaders Mac McClear of Iowa and Daniel Svard of Northwestern.
Buchanan is now tied with teammate Adrien Dumont de Chassart at 141 (-1). Dumont de Chassart, who claimed the 2019 Big Ten individual title as a freshman, carded a 2-under 69 in Round 2 to remain in contention.
Piercen Hunt also finds himself in the mix. The Illini junior enters Round 3 in a tie for 13th with a 36-hole score of 144 (+2), bouncing back from an opening 76 with a 3-under 68 on Saturday.
As a team, the Illini's 268 (-16) was 10 shots ahead of the next closest team round, a 278 from Indiana. Northwestern was one shot shy of Indiana for the day, and sits behind the Illini with a two-round total of 577 (+9). NU is six strokes ahead of third-place Wisconsin (+15). The Hoosiers are fourth at 18-over, while Ohio State and Iowa round out the top five in a tie at 21-over.
Despite the team's cushion, and the looming threat of more inclement weather, the Illini remain focused on closing out the tournament which would secure the program's eighth consecutive B1G Championship, their 13th of 14 since 2009, and the program's 20th overall Big Ten Title.
"The goal for tomorrow is to go out and try to win the day," Small added. "We won today's round, now we want to win tomorrow's.
"All you can do is take care of your own business. Stay in your own space, and take care of your own business. We can't play defense in golf. We can't worry about anybody else. We have to go out and take care of our mindset, control our space, accept the conditions of the weather and the course, and be ready to play and compete like Illini."
Round 3 is set to begin with tee times at 8 a.m. ET/7 a.m. CT. The Illini, paired with the Wildcats and Badgers, will tee off starting at 8:45 a.m. ET/7:45 a.m. CT. Live scoring is available throughout the tournament at Golfstat.com. For more information, visit the 2023 Big Ten Men's Golf Championship Central.
FOLLOW THE #ILLINI
For more Fighting Illini men's golf news, stay tuned to FightingIllini.com and follow @IlliniMGolf on social media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook.
| Place | Big Ten Championship | RD1 | RD2 | RD3 | TOTAL |
| 1 | Illinois | 292 | 268 | -- | 560 (-8) |
| T3 | Matthis Besard | 70 | 70 | -- | 140 (-2) |
| T3 | Tommy Kuhl | 75 | 65 | -- | 140 (-2) |
| T5 | Adrien Dumont de Chassart | 72 | 69 | -- | 141 (+1) |
| T5 | Jackson Buchanan | 75 | 66 | -- | 141 (+1) |
| T13 | Piercen Hunt | 76 | 68 | -- | 144 (+2) |
