It was a phenomenal morning for Illinois.
The Illini carded a 7-under 273, the second-lowest round recorded by a men’s team at Grayhawk Golf Club the past three years. In 2021, Pepperdine shot 9-under 271 during the final round.
The Waves went on to win the title. Illinois is hoping to do the same.
“If you look at our season, our head-to-head, our wins, it has been impressive,” Illinois coach Mike Small said. “It has been consistent. today was more of a resemblance of our year. Yesterday was not.
“That happens, but good teams come back from that. Now we have to continue to play one day at a time and stay in the present.”
Illinois is at 2-under 558 for the tournament. After Saturday’s morning wave, it is the only team thus far to shoot under par in a round.
And it was a team effort. Four Illini shot under par, with Adrien Dumont de Chassart, Piercen Hunt and Jackson Buchanan each signing for 2-under 68. Tommy Kuhl fired a 1-under 69.
And Illinois moved up eight spots, guaranteeing itself a Sunday morning tee time ahead of the 15-team cut.
“We just regrouped last night, circled the wagons and we need to play our game,” Small said.
NCAA Championship | Round 2
Jackson Buchanan finishes with par putt on 18!
He’s in the clubhouse tied for 15th at -1 after carding a 68 (-2) today.
Live scoring ⤵️
📊: https://t.co/fx0WrOanmt#Illini // #HTTO // #NCAAGolf pic.twitter.com/gGaAH6D3lh— Illinois Men’s Golf (@IlliniMGolf) May 27, 2023