Story byThe News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.

Top of the Morning, July 8, 2026

Jim Rossow, The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.Wed, Jul 8, 2026·2 min read

Jul. 8—On Wednesdays, we'll chop it up with our Golfer of the Week. Email nominations to .

Just like the Masters, the winning team at the fifth annual Bret Bielema Invitational received snazzy new blazers — only orange.

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"Green jacket, gold jacket, orange jacket — who gives a (expletive)," Ryan Dixon said. "LFG BBY!!!"

The talented team — The Hole Patrol — included Dixon (Monticello), Travis Albin (Villa Grove), Nick Sudding (Arcola), Jason Vallowe (Mahomet) and the UI's Director of College Scouting/NFL Liaison, Jon Proto.

Everyone had a hand in an impressive round of 56.

"Ryan had the Nike Vapor Pros and the liquor stick dialed in all day," Albin said. "Jason was a great DJ all day keeping the mood right and drained a huge eagle putt that ended up winning it for us in a scorecard playoff. Nick and myself just didn't get in much trouble, always had us in a good position for the next shot and we both made plenty of clutch shots.

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"The real hero was Proto when he hit a putt Jack or Tiger would be proud of from 87 yards off the green to inside 2 feet of the pin."

Another perk of winning: An interview with Voice of the Illini Brian Barnhart.

"You mean that wasn't Jim Natz interviewing us from Butler Cabin," Albin said. "In all honesty, though, it felt a lot like Coach B had to feel after explaining the T Bar (substituation signal) to Brian after the Citrus Bowl."

Albin has his orange jacket framed in his Illini-themed garage next to "a hand-painted Chief and Illini themed pool table. Ryan keeps his in his Illini-themed bourbon basement, Jason has his proudly on display at his office at Altopher AG in Clinton, and Nick keeps his in the back of his patrol car in Arcola.

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"We have had a solid two-year run together and we will be back to defend the jackets as long as Proto's wife allows."

The sold-out scramble at Atkins Golf Club, presented by Gibson Area Hospital, featured 29 five-person teams and benefitted the Illini Quarterback Club.

Expectations are high for a program seeking another a third-consecutive nine-win season.

"Growing up I remember some of the magical runs to the Sugar Bowl, Final Four, Rose Bowl, NCAA Finals in golf, hosting NCAA tournament baseball games and it was always cool seeing the community and really the state rally around those better teams but we could never sustain that level of success outside of the golf program," Albin said. "Josh (Whitman) and the athletic department have done an amazing job building the foundation so those glimpses of what we experienced in the past is the expectation day in and day out for Illini Nation. We have real opportunities to compete at the highest level and hopefully one day soon bring a natty back to the greatest college town in the country.