Despite a second-round struggle at the two-day Mobile Bay Intercollegiate in Mobile, Ala., the Illinois men’s golf team captured a third-place finish out of 16 teams at the par-72 7,212-yard Magnolia Grove Crossings Golf Course.
After playing a solid first round on Sunday, finishing tied for third, the Illini were faced with obstacles before the second and third rounds.
After a heavy dew on the Magnolia course pushed back the start of the tournament and a suspension of second-round play was prompted because of darkness on the back nine, the Illini were forced to continue the second round of the tournament the following morning before the start of the third round.
Despite these setbacks, solid golf was seen throughout this tournament, which was hosted by the University of South Alabama.
Sophomore Brian Campbell posted a first round of four-under par, 68, the best score out of all of Illinois players. He then posted a 77 and 72 in the second and third rounds, respectively, to tie for fifth.
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Illini senior Mason Jacobs contributed a one-under par 71 the first round, a 75 the second round and a one-under par 71 the final day of the tournament to also finish tied for fifth with teammate Campbell.
“I am really proud of Brian and Mason’s efforts,” head coach Mike Small said. “For them to show up and play well, it showed their ability to come back and finish strong after a second-round struggle,” he said.
In addition, freshman Charlie Danielson finished with plus-4, tying him for 16th place, while junior Thomas Pieters tied for 22nd and freshman Thomas Detry finished tied for 39th.
With all five Illinois players placing in the top 40, Small isn’t too discouraged by the difficult second-round play.
“We missed some greens in regulation and it was hard to get up and down. And unfortunately, we went cold in our putting. Missing four to seven footers was disappointing,” he said.
But finishing strong is something that Small is most proud of despite these struggles.
“Being able to capitalize on our strengths and use them to our advantage definitely paid off while in Alabama,” Small said. “We’re still trying to figure out why the second round was so difficult for us, but these next few weeks after evaluating each player’s individual games and needs, I think we will have a lot of success in store for the coming weeks.”
Claire can be reached at [email protected].
