Illinois looks for consistency at Marshall invite

By Lee Ann Sangalang

The Illinois men’s golf team will begin the Marshall Invitational on Friday in hopes of attaining one thing – consistency.

“All of the guys have the ability to show up and play well, as long as they keep their focuses,” head coach Mike Small said. “The lineups are constantly changing because we have seven guys that can be in that lineup.”

Redshirt sophomore Matt Hoffman was the top Illini at the Barona Cup with a 12th-place finish, posting a score of 213, putting him at 3-under par. This is the second time Hoffman has led Illinois this season, finishing ninth at the previous tournament, the Louisiana Classic.

“Matt worked very hard in the winter and has improved significantly since the fall,” Small said. “He’s been the top finisher these past two tournaments, so we’d like to see him keep that consistency into this tournament.”

Although Hoffman has finished on top for Illinois the last two tournaments, his teammates have not been far behind him. The Illini have had four different leaders at tournaments since the fall – Larry Blatt (Olympia Fields), Chris DeForest (D.A. Weibring), Jon Krick (Isleworth) and Scott Langley (Argonaut).

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This is the first tournament for the team since spring break, when it finished ninth overall at the Barona Cup with a score of 287, putting it at 1-under par. Blatt played an impressive 3-under par, finishing with 69 strokes.

“We had a bad first round, and we played two respectable rounds afterward, but no one really played low enough to move us higher,” Small said.

Entering the Marshall Invite, the Illini are just three weeks away from the Big Ten Championships. Good results could help Illinois qualify for the NCAA Regional for the first time in four years if the whole team connects.

“I’ve always had a team with two or three predominant players, but this time we have many,” Small said. “It’s more like a leadership committee. If everyone can go out and max out, then we’d be really dangerous.”