University of Illinois wins Sugar Grove Regional
The 2014 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships – Sugar Grove Regional was contested May 15-17 at Rich Harvest Farms, “Home of the Northern Illinois University Huskies”. After a cold and rainy weekend, the Fighting Illini from the University of Illinois prevailed and claimed the title of the 2014 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships – Sugar Grove Regional Champions.
”Today we finished pretty good coming in,” said Illinois Coach Mike Small. “These are hard holes and to come in on top and win this thing, I think it speaks a lot for these kids…the statement that they want to start finishing better and maybe we can do that next week.”
The University of Illinois Men’s Golf Team, after a close win at the Sugar Grove Regional, is advancing to their 7th straight National Title. The 2014 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship will be contested May 27th – June 1st at the Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kansas. The Fighting Illini have produced two individual Champions and hope to knock that number up to three with the help of rising star, Brian Campbell.
Leading the way, player Brian Campbell, a junior at Illinois, excelled throughout the event to help his team capture the win. “The first two days were big,” Campbell said. “We know the weather, we were ready for cold and windy. We knew what to expect. Today, I definitely had it going on the front and then ran into some tough holes but regrouped and stayed tough. It’s a great course. It’s all strategy.”
The regional was the second held at the course, which is consistently ranked in the Golf Digest’s list of America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses. The regional featured 75 student-athletes from the top universities in the country.
Each university had a team of five players and an additional five individual players competed as well. The top five teams and the low individual advanced to the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships. Below are the final results after 3 days of competition:
| Place | Team | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Total |
| 1. | Illinois | 293 | 292 | 295 | 880 (+16) |
| 2. | UAB | 292 | 292 | 298 | 882 (+18) |
| 3. | Purdue | 309 | 288 | 297 | 894 (+30) |
| T-4. | Southern California | 302 | 292 | 302 | 896 (+32) |
| T-4. | California | 305 | 288 | 303 | 896 (+32) |
| 6. | Clemson | 299 | 292 | 307 | 898 (+34) |
| 7. | Kent State | 299 | 309 | 292 | 900 (+36) |
| 8. | Jacksonville State | 302 | 306 | 299 | 907 (+43) |
| 9. | UNLV | 308 | 309 | 295 | 912 (+48) |
| 10. | Cleveland State | 315 | 298 | 307 | 920 (+56) |
| 11. | Cal State Fullerton | 319 | 309 | 309 | 937 (+73) |
| 12. | Mississippi State | 315 | 314 | 310 | 939 (+75) |
| 13. | New Mexico State | 317 | 315 | 313 | 945 (+81) |
| 14. | Saint Peter’s | 338 | 324 | 328 | 990 (+126) |
| Place | Team | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Total |
| 1. | Brian Campbell, Illinois | 69 | 70 | 72 | 211 (-5) |
| 2. | Anthony Paolucci, USC | 73 | 73 | 69 | 215 (-1) |
| 3. | Paul Dunne, UAB | 73 | 73 | 72 | 218 (+2) |
| Taylor Pendrith, Kent State | 70 | 78 | 70 | 218 (+2) | |
| 5. | Brandon Hagy, California | 73 | 72 | 74 | 219 (+3) |
| 6. | Rico Hoey, USC | 75 | 70 | 75 | 220 (+4) |
| Martin Rohwer, UAB | 74 | 74 | 72 | 220 (+4) | |
| Pablo Torres, Jacksonville St. | 70 | 75 | 75 | 220 (+4) | |
| Carson Young, Clemson | 72 | 73 | 75 | 220 (+4) | |
| 10. | Adam Schenk, Purdue | 75 | 70 | 76 | 221 (+5) |
Advancing teams are: Illinois, UAB, Purdue, Southern California and California. The top individual advancing is Taylor Pendrith, a senior from Kent State.
“I am very proud of all of the athletes that competed this weekend”, expresses Jerry Rich, President of Rich Harvest Farms. “Congratulations to the teams and athletes that have qualified for the Championship, I wish them all the best of luck. We were host to one of the most competitive regional sites and these men competed tremendously; I look forward to watching these athletes continue their golfing careers. I want to give a special ‘thank you’ to NIU and the NCAA for putting together a terrific event and I hope to host more NCAA Golf Championships in the future!”
Rich Harvest Farms thanks the community who attended and the golfers that competed in the 2014 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships – Sugar Grove Regional. Additional information and results for the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships is available at www.NCAA.com.