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Just volunteered to help with the 2017 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship at Rich Harvest Farms. I hope to be a standard bearer for a group that includes an Illini golfer.
Just volunteered to help with the 2017 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship at Rich Harvest Farms. I hope to be a standard bearer for a group that includes an Illini golfer.
Onto actual tournament play: Which teams were the biggest surprises of the fall?
Brentley Romine: Baylor was 28th in our preseason rankings and Coach Mike McGraw now has his boys at No. 10. Ole Miss has been a pleasant surprise, too, as Braden Thornberry is a legitimate Haskins contender for the 21st-ranked Rebels. I also thought Alabama would have a better fall, but they have battled the injury bug with Jonathan Hardee and Dru Love each missing the fall with injuries.
Lance Ringler: Illinois certainly turned a few heads after being ranked at the top for a few weeks this fall. Many figured the Illini would have some sort of drop off with a few new faces in the lineup after the departure of Charlie Danielson and Thomas Detry. That has not been the case. What was thought to be rebuilding appears to be reloading. But, the biggest surprise that has not been mentioned much is the turnaround in Oxford, Miss. In head coach Chris Malloy’s third season at Ole Miss, his team has vaulted to No. 21 in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings. Led by Braden Thornberry’s three wins and No. 14 ranking the Rebels won three times and places second twice compiling a 65-2 overall head-to-head record.
Kevin Casey: Oh for sure, Illinois. Nobody expected a precipitous drop-off from the Illini – you don’t bet against Mike Small like that – but they lose their top two players in Detry and Danielson and then win four of five fall events? Huh? This is the same Detry mind you who won a Challenge Tour event by 12 shots and earned his European Tour card in the months after turning pro. So yeah, this is pretty incredible. Heck, I think Georgia’s doing a pretty good job dealing with the loss of Lee McCoy and Sepp Straka, and they’ve still dropped from No. 3 to No. 14. Illinois, on the other hand, may actually be better than last year’s group. Crazy. One more surprise on the positive side I would say is Kennesaw State. At No. 19, they are 30 spots higher than where the team finished in 2015-16. Bryant Odom is in his second year there, so that settling in probably helps a good deal, but still 30 spots is a big jump in this range, especially with arguably the team’s best player (Fredrik Nilehn) transferring to Texas Tech in the offseason.
Roundtable
Thanks, WVC
Always happy when I see that latest post in this thread is by you.
Going to be news. And, with Mike Small at the helm, likely good news
Hardy tied for 2nd, almost at the turn.
@luke_armbrust
Honored to say that I have committed to play golf at the University of Illinois! Thanks to everyone who supported me along the way! #ILL![]()
Are there class rankings in NCAA golf such as there is in the major sports? If so where do I find them so I can see where we sit compared to other top programs? Are they as relevant an indicator as well?
I don't know of any. Golfweek does a listing of them with the players rankings, but they don't rank the classes. You can get an idea of who has the best classes, though.
Thanks WVC. That link shows a date of Nov 9 yet says the signing period ends a week later. Was there not an updated listing once the signing period was over?
I think they updated the article during that week.
@DJ_DFunk
Follow @coreyperalta and I as we represent the USA here at the @AusMotA#RedWhiteAndBuckets
Australian Masters of the Amateurs
I don't know...Seems like clickbait. [emoji6]Stars of Tomorrow: 10 golfers 21-and-under to watch (check out #8)
http://golfweek.com/2016/12/26/most-promising-young-golfers/
There was thoughts that this would be the year Illlinois might slide back to the pack after losing a couple of All-Americans in Charlie Danielson and Thomas Detry. That has not been the case and Illlinois is not only the clear favorite in the Big Ten, but once again one of the top squads in all of college golf. Michigan State surprised a bit this fall, edging out Purdue as the second-best team in the league. Add Northwestern to the mix and that group could put pressure on the Illlini, but it’s unlikely any have the lineup to unseat Illinois as Big Ten champs.
Big Ten spring preview