Men’s golf earns 2nd at Turtle Bay

In its final tournament of the season, the Illinois men’s golf team finished in second place in the 12-team tournament at the Turtle Bay Collegiate Invitational in Kahuku, Hawaii, behind stellar final-round performances from senior Matt Hoffman and junior Scott Langley.

In its final tournament of the season, the Illinois men’s golf team finished in second place in the 12-team tournament at the Turtle Bay Collegiate Invitational in Kahuku, Hawaii, behind stellar final-round performances from senior Matt Hoffman and junior Scott Langley.

Hoffman shot a final round 3-under 69, while Langley shot a 4-under 68 on the 7,218-yard Arnold Palmer Course.

After day one of the three-day tournament, the Illini had three golfers, Luke Guthrie, Chris DeForest and Hoffman, shoot even-par, placing the team in a tie for fourth place with Santa Clara University with a score of 2-over behind San Diego State (12-under), Long Beach State (3-under) and Hawaii (even).

Head coach Mike Small was pleased with the team’s first day efforts, but thought there was room for improvement on day two.

“We didn’t hurt ourselves today, but at the same time, we didn’t have our best,” Small said in a press release. “We lost too many shots around the green and have to tidy things up tomorrow.”

Senior Zach Barlow stepped up for the Illini in the second round by shooting a 3-under 69. Guthrie followed up his round-one performance with another even-par round, including an eagle on the par-5 17.

After day two, Illinois found itself in a tie for third place with Long Beach state at 3-over for the tournament, trailing Santa Clara University (even) and San Diego State (12-under). Hawaii had fallen out of contention and was 17-over for the tournament.

The third and final round of the tournament was played at the George Fazio Course.

At the start of the final day, the Illini trailed the leader, San Diego State, by 15 strokes and needed under-par performances to overtake the leader.

The Illini shot an 11-under 277 in the final round, leading them to an 8-under 856 for the tournament. Despite its best efforts, Illinois could not eclipse San Diego State, which shot a final round 14-under 274 en route to a first-place 26-under finish.

Individually, Illinois had three golfers finish in the top 10 for the tournament out of the field of 64. Barlow finished the tournament in a tie for sixth place at 3-under, while Guthrie and Langley tied for eighth place at 2-under.

The Turtle Bay Collegiate Invitation concluded the fall season for the Illini, and the team will resume competition in February for the Big Ten Match Play tournament in Coral Springs, Florida.