After wrapping up the regular season with a third-place finish in the Boilermaker Invitational on Sunday, the Illinois men’s golf team will have one more chance to prove the strength of its program at the Big Ten Championships in French Lick, Ind., looking to win its fifth straight title.

Head coach Mike Small said all it will take for the team to win is play “fearless and confident golf,” which has been a goal for the team all year. With another win in 2013, the Illini would hold 12 Big Ten team titles overall.

Thomas Pieters leading the pack

After helping the Illini win two Big Ten Championships in his first two seasons, Pieters will be a key player if Illinois wants to make it five straight titles. Last season, he tied for fifth and tied for 10th in 2011. He also won the 2012 NCAA individual title.

 Even though he is likely to produce a strong finish, Pieters is aware of other competition.

“All the other teams want it so bad because we won it the past four years,” he said. “We don’t have Luke (Guthrie) anymore,  but we’re still a good team. But that still means we need to step it up. We need to shoot a lot under and just play solid golf.” 

The roster

Thomas Pieters

Coming off of six top-10 finishes this season and reigning as the third-ranked player in the Big Ten, there is no question why Pieters is No. 1 on the roster going into the Big Tens. He leads the team in stroke average at 71.54.

Thomas Detry

Ranking second on the team with a 73.25 average, the freshman from Belgium will compete in the Big Tens. He has placed in the top 20 in six of the eight tournaments he has played in during the fall and spring season.

Brian Campbell 

With a stroke average of 73.50, the sophomore from Irvine, Calif., will join the team in French Lick. He was named Big Ten Golfer of the Week on Feb. 20 along with teammate Mason Jacobs.

Charlie Danielson 

The Wisconsin native has finished in the top 30 in six of eight tournaments he has played his freshman year. This season alone, he has shot seven rounds under par.

Alex Burge 

With a stroke average of 74.30, the sophomore has come off of 19th-place, 33rd-place and 13th-place finishes at the Boilermaker invitational, the Augusta State Invitational and Lousiana Classics, respectively.

The competition

Even though Illinois comes out on top in Big Ten rankings at No. 30 in the nation, many teams are close behind. No. 31 Northwestern. No. 55 Iowa, No. 59 Indiana and No. 74 Purdue will provide tough competition for the Illini. The 12 remaining teams consist of Ohio State (87), Michigan State (102), Minnesota (110), Michigan (117), Penn State (125), Nebraska (144) and Wisconsin (167).

Prospects

This 2012-13 season, the Illini have won five tournaments: the Wolf Run Invitational and the D.A. Weibring in September, the Tinervin Cup vs. Illinois State in February, the Lousianna Classics in March, and, most importantly, the Big Ten Match Play Championship, where they defeated Michigan, 4-0-1; Ohio, 5-0; and Michigan State, 5-0.  Illinois’ wins put it in third for the most wins of any Big Ten team this season. 

Despite Illinois’ youth, its lineup is stacked with talent, proving more than capable of winning its fifth-straight Big Ten Championship. Play begins on the par-72, 7,152-yard Pete Dye Course on Friday at 7 a.m., where the Big Ten teams will play 36 holes, followed by play on Saturday and Sunday.

Claire can be reached at [email protected] and @clairelav228.