For champion Dylan Meyer (R), a framed print of the 13th at Augusta National
(University of Illinois photo)
By Illinois Men's Golf
AUGUSTA, Ga. – Fighting Illini men's golf earned its second consecutive tournament victory on Sunday at Forest Hills Golf Club, powered by a season-low 6-under par round (66) from sophomore Bryan Baumgarten. Senior Dylan Meyer won his second tournament of the season, taking the individual title at the 3M Augusta Invitational for the second-straight year. Meyer fired rounds of 67-69-69 for an 11-under par total score. As a team, Illinois shot 13-under par on Sunday for a total score 25-under par. The Illini were joined at the top of the leaderboard by Houston (-10) and Wake Forest (-10), who tied for second overall.
"It was another successful weekend," head coach Mike Small said. "We're laying the foundation for a solid end to the season. I was very happy with the way we came out and expanded our lead today. Houston came out and started shooting some low scores, and we powered through that. I'm very proud of Bryan Baumgarten, the first man out has to go out and establish the mindset for the day and he did that, shooting 6-under par. Everybody chipped in this week, which is important. We had two guys finish in the top six, and I'm very happy for Dylan {Meyer}. Winning is contagious, when one guy starts winning, the others believe they can win, and that's important to our program. Two top six finishes here at this golf course is another good accomplishment, and moving forward, I want to take this and build on it for the next tournament."
Meyer shot 3-under par on Sunday, recording four birdies in total. He has finished among the top two individuals in each of his last two tournaments, and has shot at or under par in 15 of 19 rounds played this year. With his victory in Augusta, Meyer earns an exemption into the PGA TOUR's 2019 Valspar Championship.
Senior Nick Hardy joined Meyer near the top of the leaderboard as he tied for sixth individually. He closed the tournament at 5-under par in total, firing a 2-under par final-round tally. Hardy used three birdies on the front nine to negate two early bogeys on the day. He made the turn at 1-under par, and closed play with a birdie on the 18th hole.
Sophomore Michael Feagles also finished the tournament strong as he posted consecutive birdies on the 17th and 18th holes. He shot 2-under par on Sunday for a total tournament score 2-under par. He earned his seventh finish among the top 20 this season, as he tied for 17th overall.
Baumgarten was on fire right from the start on Sunday, recording three consecutive birdies in his first four holes. He added two more before the turn to start the day at 5-under par. Tying for 21st individually, Baumgarten added two more birdies on the back nine, to help negate his only bogey on the 16th hole. He closed the tournament 1-under par in total.
Sophomore Giovanni Tadiotto tied for 32nd individually, recording a total score 2-over par. He shot 1-over par on Sunday, using three birdies on the back nine to negate early bogeys in his round.
ABOUT THE
Augusta Invitational
Founded in 1979, The Augusta Haskins Award
Invitational presented by Valspar carries on the rich
tradition of golf in Augusta, Georgia. The winner
receives an automatic exemption into the PGA
TOUR’s
3M Open.
Some of the best golf teams in the country have
competed in the event's history,
featuring
several touring pros such as Davis Love III, Phil
Mickelson (1989), Brad Faxon, Justin Leonard
(1992),
Vaughn Taylor (1998), Oliver Wilson (2001, 2003),
Chris Kirk (2005), Scott Brown (2006), Dustin
Johnson (2007), Henrik Norlander (2010), Jordan
Spieth, Patrick Reed, and Beau Hossler (2016).
View Complete Tournament Information