Men’s Golf drops East Lake Cup semifinal to Illinois, 3-2

Tuesday, November 1

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Men’s Golf drops East Lake Cup semifinal to Illinois, 3-2

11.01.2016 | Men's Golf

The final pairing of the day was the determining factor in the close match against the defending East Lake Cup champions.

ATLANTA, Ga. – No. 2 seed Texas fell in a close 3-2 decision to No. 3 seed Illinois in the semifinal match of the East Lake Cup on Tuesday afternoon. After evening the score at 2-2, junior Dylan Meyer secured the match for Illinois, 2&1, over junior Taylor Funk on the 17^th hole in the anchor match.

Junior Scottie Scheffler led 2-up after birding three of the first four holes, but freshman Michael Feagles dropped a birdie on the 5^th and a par on the 8^th to get the match back to all square. Feagles took his first lead of the match after a birdie on the par-4 10^th and closed with two more birdies on 15 and 17 to give Illinois its first point with the 3&1 result.

After trailing Illinois freshman Bryan Baumgarten for the front nine, senior Gavin Hall dropped consecutive birdies on 11 and 12 to take a 1-up lead with six to play. Hall never let his foot off the pedal from there, and a birdie-par finish on the 16^th and 17^th handed him the match, 2&1, to even the score against Illinois.

Junior Doug Ghim faced off against a familiar foe, Illinois junior Nick Hardy, who he last played against in the 2010 CEJA championship match hosted by the Illinois Junior Golf Association. Ghim never trailed in the match, dropping only two holes to Hardy, and gave Texas the 2-1 advantage after closing 4&2 with a birdie on the 16^th.

In his first match play round of his Texas career, sophomore Steven Chervony made the turn all square with sophomore Edoardo Lipparelli. After going 1-down twice, Chervony equaled things again with three to play. Lipparelli closed with back-to-back birdies, tying things at 2-2 with the 2&1 victory.

Reminiscent of the 2016 NCAA Championship, it came down to the final match with Funk at the helm. Funk led Meyer 2-up after birdies on 5 and 6, but the Illinois anchor responded by winning the next three holes to lead by one through 10. A birdie on the par-4 13^th strengthened Meyer's lead to 2-up, and he would go on to close the match 2&1, handing Illinois the 3-2 win over Texas.

In the other semifinal matchup, No. 4 seed Oregon defeated No. 1 seed Vanderbilt, 3-2, with the clenching point coming from senior Wyndham Clark, who is currently the top-ranked national player according to the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings.

Texas will play in the consolation match of the East Lake Cup tomorrow against Vanderbilt. Defending East Lake Cup champion Illinois will take on defending NCAA champion Oregon in the finals to determine the Cup.

The first match for Texas is set for 11:05 a.m. ET tomorrow. The matches will be broadcasted on the Golf Channel from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET, airing again in prime time.

East Lake Cup

East Lake Golf Club

SEMIFINAL MATCHES

No. 3 Illinois def. No. 2 Texas, 3-2-0

Michael Feagles (Illinois) def. Scottie Scheffler (Texas), 3&1

Gavin Hall (Texas) def. Bryan Baumgarten (Illinois), 2&1

Edoardo Lipparelli (Illinois) def. Steven Chervony (Texas), 2&1

Doug Ghim (Texas) def. Nick Hardy (Illinois), 4&2

Dylan Meyer (Illinois) def. Taylor Funk (Texas), 2&1

No. 4 Oregon def. No. 1 Vanderbilt, 3-2-0

Edwin Yi (Oregon) def. John Augenstein (Vanderbilt), 2&1

Ryan Gronlund (Oregon) def. Theo Humphrey (Vanderbilt), 2UP