Men’s golf lands top recruits

By Andy Selby

The Illinois men’s golf team is looking up after locking down two of the top recruits in Illinois for the class of 2012.

Luke Guthrie of Quincy and Mason Jacobs of Metropolis come to Champaign boasting both state and national accolades. Coach Mike Small thinks that Guthrie is an impressive young golfer and his top finishes in the past show that.

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“Luke has proven in the last two years to be the dominant player in class AAA now in high school and he’s won two straight state championships and he’s more prominent on the national scene this summer than ever before,” Small said.

He finished in the top ten individuals in the nation … this summer.”

While Small believes that Guthrie is one of the best recruits at Illinois is a long time, he is also excited about Mason Jacobs.

Jacobs, who led his high school to a second place finish in state this fall, is a little under the radar nationally compared to Guthrie. Regardless, Small explains that he is in a class of his own in Illinois State High School history.

“Mason is just as strong,” Small said. “Mason’s more of a regional player; he’s played national a little bit but he’s kept closer to home. And he’s the first player in Illinois High School Association history to win three state championships at the A and AA level.”

Small said both men chose Illinois over several other southern schools because of the proximity to home, the ability to play against fierce competition and the state of the art golf facilities that the program recently built. With this talented duo, Illinois’ recruiting class is in the top tier in all of the NCAA.