1/27- Illinois Golfers receive top seed in first ever Big Ten Match Play

Illinois has earned the top seed in the first ever Big Ten match play event, which will be held Feb. 13-14 in at Heron Bay Golf Club in Coral Springs Fla. The Illini, which take a no. 5 national ranking into the spring season, get a buy in the first round and face the Northwestern-Penn State winner in the second round. The Big Ten will be the first conference to emulate the new NCAA Golf Championship format in the 2009 Big Ten Match Play Championship. The Big Ten Network will broadcast the inaugural tournament on a date to be announced. Beginning this season, the NCAA title will begin with 54 holes of stroke play to narrow the field to eight teams. Those eight squads then will compete in match play to determine the national champion. The Big Ten schools will get an early taste of match play in their own tournament to start the spring season. Match play will include five head-to-head matches between players from each team. The matches will not be halved. If necessary, a playoff will be used to determine the match winner. The team claiming at least three of the five matches will advance to the next round.