URBANA — Home sweet home.
For the seventh time in program history, the Illinois Fighting Illini men’s golf team has won an NCAA Regional tournament, but this time, that honor came on their home golf course at the Atkins Golf Club in Urbana.
“It was a good week, successful week,’’ said Illinois golf coach Mike Small, a native of Danville and a member of the Vikings 1981 state championship team.
Technically, Illinois, ranked No. 14 in the country, tied with second-ranked Oklahoma State for the team title as both schools finished the three-day tournament with scores of 15-under 837.
The Cowboys actually overcame a three-shot deficit entering Wednesday’s final round and the Illini still had that three-shot lead entering Wednesday’s final three holes, but five bogeys on the closing holes allowed Oklahoma State to pull even with Illinois.
“Today, we didn’t finish that well either,’’ said Small, noting that Illinois saw the Big Ten Championships fade away on the final holes two weeks ago. “But, we didn’t finish well all week on 16, 17, 18. I think we gave away five shots coming in.’’
But, tying for first and qualifying for the NCAA Championships at La Costa Golf Club in Carlsbad, Calif on May 23 is still a step in the right direction for Small.
“We haven’t won a big, significant event all year,’’ said Small as Illinois won only the Memphis Intercollegiate this spring, while taking second at Big Tens to go with a couple of thirds at the Purdue Invitational and the Haskins Invitational. “We beat some really good teams this week.
“We are getting better, but we are still making some mistakes. I see stretches of good play, but I also see us get in our way at times.’’
All seven NCAA Regional titles for Illinois have come since 2013 with Small as the head coach, and the seven regional championships for Small rank tied for third in NCAA history with former Clemson head coach Larry Penley, just one off the lead shared by Texas coach John Fields and Oklahoma State coach Alan Bratton.
Individually, Michigan’s Hunter Thompson claimed the regional title with a 10-under 203, while Illinois junior Ryan Voois tied for second at 9-under 204. Voois had back-to-back rounds of 4-under 67 on Tuesday and Wednesday for the Illini.
“It was special,’’ Voois said of playing the NCAA Regional at Atkins Golf Club. “We were wondering how many people would come out and it was nice to have all that support.’’
And was it an advantage?
“It’s a huge advantage if you take advantage of it the right way,’’ he said. “Knowing the golf course and all the shots is definitely helpful, but you have to approach it the right way.’’
Illinois senior Jackson Buchanan, who shot a course-record 8-under-63 on Monday, finished in a tie for 5th at 6-under 207.
Also qualifying for the NCAA Championships from the Urbana Regional were UNLV, Troy and Texas Tech.
The Illinois State Redbirds finished in 10th with a three-day score of 15-over 867. Former Illini TJ Barger was the top scorer for Illinois State, with a three-day score of 2-over 215.