Illinois’ men’s golf team traveled to Windermere, Fla., last weekend to participate in the Isleworth Collegiate Invitational, one of the toughest and most nationally recognized college fall tournaments. 

The Illini finished in fifth place out of 15 teams. After starting the tournament with two solid rounds in which they shot a combined 573, the Illini had one of their worst outings of the season on the final day. 

The Illini had high expectations coming off two tournament wins and hoped to compete with some of the best teams in the country, including two top-five teams in last year’s national championship, No. 1 Alabama and perennial power No. 4 California. In total, eight top-25 teams participated in the tournament. 

The team faced adversity on the first day when sophomore Charlie Danielson had to withdraw before the round because of a back issue that sprang up the day before. 

Without Danielson, the rest of the team stepped up and shot a 284, which left the Illini tied for third place while competing only with four golfers. 

“It was the best round of the year,” head coach Mike Small said.

Small was also particularly happy that his team was able to regroup, 

“(We) turned a potential negative situation into a very positive statement,” he said.

Junior Brian Campbell and senior Jonathan Hauter led the team during the first round, shooting a 5-under-par 67 and a 69 respectively. 

During the second round, Danielson returned and shot a 72, which was the second-best score for the Illini behind sophomore David Kim who shot 71. 

“I really just tried to pick up where they left off,” Danielson said.

This put the team in fourth place after two rounds behind only Alabama, Central Florida and California. 

The final round did not go how the Illini had hoped, with only one player shooting under par. Danielson continued to play well after missing the first day and posted a 66, which was the best score of the day for the tournament. The next best score for the Illini was 75 by Campbell, a score that would not have counted for the Illini in any other round.

The biggest issue for the Illini during the last round was the difficult greens and pin locations, which Small expected his team might struggle with sometime during the tournament.

“The course wears on you … and it beats you after a while,” Small said.

Campbell was the Illini’s top individual throughout the tournament and finished tied for eighth. 

The Illini hoped for a better finish in the last fall tournament, but after two first-place finishes during the fall season, the team considered the season a success.

“I know the guys are disappointed in their finish because we don’t usually finish tournaments like that … but it was a successful fall, and we’re ready to get into the offseason now,” Small said.

Kieran can be reached at [email protected].