Illini finish in 10th place at Boilermaker Invitational

By Brian Atlas

The Illinois men’s golf team got off to a promising start at the Boilermaker Invitational over the weekend, but ultimately finished with a score of 611 and 10th place.

Illinois was in fifth place out of 15 teams and only two strokes out of third after the first round on Saturday. Despite frost, high winds and frigid temperatures, the tournament went on at Kampen Course in West Lafayette, Ind.

“When the weather is that tough and the conditions are that difficult, you really have to have a good short game … and putting is a big deal,” head coach Mike Small said.

Four shots separated the Illini from the fourth place Auburn Tigers.

Michigan State finished first in the event with a 593.

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Redshirt senior Patrick Nagle did not let the wind and temperature bother him on the first day of the Invitational. Nagle shot a three-over-par round on Saturday, which tied for fifth place. Redshirt freshman Matt Hoffman added a 76, four-over-par, and redshirt junior Mark Ogren ended up with a 79 after the first round.

Nagle was satisfied with his individual performance throughout the weekend, coming off of his 75 with a 74 on Sunday.

Nagle’s total of 149 (+5) was good enough to tie for ninth-place overall. It was Nagle’s third top-10 finish of the year.

“I thought I hit it pretty well this week,” Nagle said. “I gave (myself) a few chances to make some birdies. I didn’t really putt well, so that was frustrating. But I stayed away from big numbers.”

Senior Kyle Hosick did what he could to try to give the team the best chance to win on Sunday, shooting an Illini-best one-over-par.

Hosick attributed his vast improvement from a first round score of 80 to 73 to the change in weather conditions.

“The conditions (Saturday) were brutal,” Hosick said. “The (conditions) were awful. That’s not to blame a bad score on it though. … My short game (Sunday) saved me. I got up and down a lot. I tried to keep the ball in the fairway.”

But along with scores of 73, 74 and 74 on Sunday from the team, the Illini also had two eight-over-par scores. One of the rounds of 80 had to count, as four of the five scores are recorded on the day.

“In this league and who we play against, you can’t do that,” Small said. “That’s just the reality of it, but we’ll regroup and practice hard and come back next week.”