Illinois men’s golf is back in action as the spring season begins to pick up heat. The Illini are off to a hot start, ranking fourth in the nation and picking up right where they left off last year with first place finishes at both the Hal Williams Collegiate and the Southern Highlands Collegiate, as well as a fourth place finish at the National Invitational Tournament this past weekend.

The success the team has enjoyed so far this season has rested heavily on the shoulders of its senior core. Senior Tommy Kuhl has had an especially significant role in the strong opening for the Illini, finishing as the top or runner-up performer for Illinois in six of the seven tournaments played thus far.

Kuhl’s consistent performance can be traced back to the end of last season during the New Haven Regional in which he was Illinois’s top finisher, just missing the cut for an individual NCAA Championship berth. Since then, Kuhl has been on a streak, leading the team with an average stroke just under 70, nearly two strokes better than his previous season’s average.

Kuhl attributed this improvement on the greens to just getting to know himself.

“If I don’t beat myself out there, I seem to play pretty good,” Kuhl said. “If I can do that, trust myself and have confidence in my game, I see results.”

Specifically, he pointed to his improved short game as a driving factor in his recent success.

“Freshman year, I was really struggling on the greens, I wasn’t confident, but sometimes the best way to fix things is just spend a lot of time on it, research what I’m doing wrong and just figuring out myself,” Kuhl said.

That relentless self-reflection over his game and areas for improvement has paid dividends for Kuhl so far this season. He has been named back-to-back Big Ten Golfer of the Week, Prairie Farms Scholar Athlete of the Week and recently as one of 15 standout performers on the Fred Haskins Award watch list, ranking seventh nationally per Golfstat.

While this is an exceptional start for both Kuhl and the rest of the Illini, the season continues down the road toward the championships, and it’s just that: a start. With the help of head coach Mike Small, Illinois has built a culture focused on winning having amassed twelve Big Ten Championships in the last 13 years, with expectations to go even further this season. However, while the postseason wins and accolades are always in the back of the program’s mind as they move forward in the season, Kuhl and the Illini know that their focus has to be on what’s immediately in front of them first.

“The Big Ten is getting better,” Kuhl said. “And we know we have to work hard each and every day if we want to reach that goal. We have to put in the work, play Illini golf and let the results take care of themselves.”

With a roster full of experienced golfers — Kuhl, Adrien Dumont de Chassart, Matthis Besard, Jackson Buchanan and Piercen Hunt — the Illini have a great opportunity to continue the legacy of success for the program. Kuhl’s exceptional play has propelled the Illini forward so far in the season; but, as the team knows well, in order to chip away at the expectations, they’re going to have to take it one stroke at a time.

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