Most senior athletes compete for four years at a collegiate level before being forced to make difficult decisions regarding life after college. Senior golfer Michael Feagles thought this would be his final year, but he never expected it to end like this.

“It’s been a whirlwind of emotions for sure,” Feagles said. “The news broke officially last Thursday that they were gonna cancel everything, and all spring sports were done for the year, so it was kinda crazy because Thursday morning our whole team was packing up our stuff; we were getting ready to go to Louisiana.”

Illinois entered the fall season coming off the program’s fifth consecutive Big Ten Championship title, the 17th in program history. Ranked No. 19 in the nation, the Illini struggled early, finishing ninth overall in the Maui Jim Intercollegiate in Scottsdale, Ariz. on Sept. 15, 2019, to open the season before coming in fifth in the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational less than one week later.

“We had one of the worst falls we’ve ever had on paper in probably 12 to 15 years,” said head coach Mike Small. “This winter, we made a lot of steps in our mindset and our vision and our accountability … The line was moving up and I wish I could’ve seen these guys play the next two or three or four events and see the improvement continue because I think they would’ve gained a lot of momentum not only this year but into next as well.”

Small saw the improvements in action to open up the spring season, with the team finishing second overall in the Mobile Sports Authority Intercollegiate on Feb. 11 and fourth overall at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate on Feb. 22. Senior Giovanni Tadiotto led the Illini in the two events, securing joint-fourth and joint-third place finishes, respectively.

Unfortunately, these were the final two meets of the 2019-2020 season. On March 11, the NCAA announced the immediate cancellation of all winter and spring competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ending the team’s hopes of competing for Big Ten and NCAA championship titles in 2020.

“I was very concerned when this went down about our players and their well-being, mentally and physically,” Small said. “I want them safe from this virus, but also this is a traumatic experience for a lot of our players because they’ve worked so hard for something all year, really their whole careers. We had built momentum so far this spring and we were playing so well.”

Bryan Baumgarten joins Feagles and Tadiotto as the team’s seniors. Due to the NCAA’s imminent announcement to provide an extra year of eligibility relief to spring-sport athletes, the trio could return to Illinois to compete again next year.

“Obviously, there’s a sense of ‘I’ve got some unfinished business in Champaign,’” Feagles said. “This is not the way I wanted to go out. We were chasing our fourth Big Ten ring and getting to the national championship once again. So that’s sitting a little different with me right now. Usually, in the middle of March, we’re getting ready to make our championship run. I’m just going to have to think about all of those things and just consider what I need to do best for myself and everyone around me moving forward because pro golf’s always going to be there, but college ends. I got to decide if I want that to be now or a year from now.”

After earning PING All-America Honorable Mention in 2019, Feagles continues to weigh his options for next year.

“There’s a lot to think about for sure,” Feagles said. “That’s been the million-dollar question, what some of us are going to do. But there’s nothing going on right now. There’s no professional tournaments. There’s no amateur tournaments. There’s nothing to go play in. But, yeah, I’m going to need to consider whether the best option for me is to come back to school or if it’s going to turn professional this summer or whenever events start to kick up again depending on how this starts to play out. It’s just going to be thinking about what’s best for me and my future.”

In addition to his PING selection in 2019, Feagles was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2017, along with three-time All-Big Ten First Team and three-time PING All-Midwest Region honors.

Coach Small hopes to welcome his seniors back next year, though he understands the difficult decisions that need to be made and will provide support either way. Small knows the NCAA first has to figure out scholarship and roster sizes before the seniors can make an informed decision but says he’d be a “very, very happy coach” if they decide to return.

Though the season is over and the seniors must wait to determine their future, the team remains close, a similar trend to teams of years’ past.

“A blessing for us is that we have a very, very close team; we’ve always had close teams,” Small said. “We believe in culture and environment and attitude and just a love for each other. That’s how we’ve been able to do what we’ve done over the past 15, 20 years … When this word went down that the season was canceled and that they needed to leave campus, none of them wanted to leave … We had to push them away because they love each other, they want to be around each other, they love golf, they love studying it, they love competing with each other.”

While the country remains under quarantine, Feagles knows the decision for next year will be tough, though he is aware he has the support from all of his teammates.

“It’s definitely been an emotional whirlwind for all of us,” Feagles said. “You gotta just take it and move on. Life goes on, and this is a lot bigger than sports.”

@JacksonJanes3

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