NCAA regional three-peat? Illinois golfers enter with optimism
· Yahoo Sports
May 16—URBANA — Like always, the only goal for the Illinois men's golf team at the upcoming NCAA Regional in Athens, Ga., is straightforward.
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Win. Period.
It has worked like a charm the last two years, with Illinois taking regional titles at Stanford, Calif., in 2024 and at Urbana's Atkins Golf Club in 2025.
"If you win a regional title, it shows you're playing good at the end of the year," Illinois coach Mike Small said. "That's what you really want to do. Golf, the regular season is long. The whole purpose of that is to get better and improve. It's also to lay a foundation, get your team ranking where you want it to be, so you can make the postseason."
Illinois isn't the favorite at the University of Georgia Golf Course. That would be No. 1-ranked Auburn, which is part of the 13-team field.
Illinois is the No. 2 seed, joined by Vanderbilt, BYU, Georgia, Louisville, Kansas, Northwestern, College of Charleston, Rice, Southern Mississippi, Harvard and Howard.
The three-round regional tees off Monday. The top five finishing teams advance to the NCAA Championships May 29 to June 3 in Carlsbad, Calif. Illinois has made it 16 out of the last 17 times.
Small knows all about winning regional titles. He has seven of them (so far) at Illinois, tied for the third most in NCAA history with former Clemson coach Larry Penley and one behind all-time leaders John Fields of Texas and Oklahoma State's Alan Bratton.
The players' mindset changes at the qualifying tournament.
"Once they get into regionals, then the gloves are off," Small said. "You're playing for real. You're playing for legacy. You're playing for history. It's a big deal for me because this is what people remember. This is what the kids come here to do."
On a roll
Illinois is coming off a joyful near-miss in the Big Ten championships, where the team rallied from 15 shots down going into the final round and ended up four shots behind league champion UCLA.
Small and the Illinois players are hoping the momentum from the hot finish carries over to the NCAA regional.
"That's the plan," Small said. "We've talked at length about that. That's what we've been trying to say all year long.
"To be an athlete in this sport, you've got to go out and impose your will on the golf course and you have to put pressure on the golf course. You can't just be a product of what happens. That's what our team does sometimes. If things don't go well, they get a little feeling sorry for themselves and thinking about the past. You can't do that. You've got to be scratching and clawing for every thing you do. That has to be a habit of a way of life."
The players get it. Their strong finish at Big Tens showed the potential.
"That was the first time all year this group of guys has seen what team golf really is," senior Ryan Voois said. "That last round could be a catalyst for the rest of the year."
For so many years at the Big Ten tournament, Illinois was the team on top, the one every other school tried to catch. Not in 2026 with the newcomer Bruins now capturing back-to-back titles.
"We chased that last round," Small said. "Every one of them said that was the most fun they'd had playing golf in their life. We didn't win. But they learned a lot."
Momentum in team golf is real.
"The first person out is a big deal," Small said. "The first guy goes and hits a ball out of bounds on the first tee or makes a bogey in front of the rest of the guys, it's kind of deflating thing.
"The first guy out has to really portray and come from a position of strength. When that happens, it builds other guys. It's no different than a guy getting hot in basketball. He makes a couple shots and the rest of the team feels that vibe. It brings the team up."
Last go-round
Voois hopes to have two more tournaments at Illinois: the regional and the NCAA Championships.
The course in Carlsbad is just 40 miles from Voois' hometown Ladera Ranch.
"He's ready for the next step, whether it's professional golf or whatever else he wants to do in life, he's developed good habits," Small said. "He's a very disciplined person. He's grown as a player too."
Voois said he hasn't given much thought to his Illinois career winding down.
Or beyond.
"It's in the back of my mind that these are the last two, but I don't treat it any different than any other different."
Voois has enjoyed a productive career at Illinois, where he was part of four NCAA tournament qualifiers and two NCAA regional championships.
"It's been everything I've wanted it be and more," Voois said, who also earned All-Big Ten first-team honors this spring as an unanimous selection. "Growing up in southern California, coming here was a big change. I think it opened my eyes to a different part of the country, a different lifestyle, different kind of people.
"On the golf course, I've grown a lot with the help of the program and coaches. Off the golf course, being exposed to everything that this university has, taking advantage of the resources that we have to offer. The business school has been incredible. I've enjoyed my classes. I've enjoyed my peers there. The staff has been great. From a life standpoint, I couldn't have made a better decision."