ERIN, Wis. — Away from the play on the course it’s been one thing after another for the U.S. Golf Association to deal with at this 117th U.S. Open.

On Thursday it was a blimp crash a half-mile from the course. On Friday the USGA announced that E.Coli bacteria had been detected in a Hydration Station on the No. 12 hole and announced that bottled water would be delivered to all four such stations as a precautionary measure.

During Friday’s second round came an even worse development – the death of a 94-year old man from nearby Wauwatosa who had been watching the action in the grandstand near the No. 6 green on his first visit to this U.S. Open.

Rescue personnel and Washington County sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the grandstand and arrived three minutes after being called. They reported the man to be pulseless and not breathing. The unidentified subject was transferred to an on-site ambulance where he was pronounced deceased. No foul play is suspected and the death appears to be of natural causes, according the medical personnel.

GO FIGURE: Defending champion Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Jason Day – the top three players in the Official World Golf Rankings – all failed to survive the 36-hole cut on Friday.

Johnson and McIlroy are still shaking off injuries and Day, who was basically out of it after a first-round 79, was the most surprised.

“It’s been the best preparation going into a major in my career,’’ he said. “I did the work, looked at the golf course, made sure that I could actually play and visualize the golf course. And, I felt the most calm I have in a major in a long time. Unfortunately this just didn’t pan out.’’

NOT TO BE IGNORED: Canadian Adam Hadwin, who won the PGA Tour’s Valspar Championship in March, matched a longstanding U.S. Open record when he strung six birdies in Thursday’s first round. He had seven on the day, all after approach shots to within 15 feet.

The Open had two previous six-birdie streaks, both at Pebble Beach. George Burns did it in 1982 and Andy Dillard in 1992.

Hadwin, who also strung six in a row at the PGA Tour’s CareerBuilder Challenge, cooled off on Friday but still was safely under the Open cut line at 2-under to qualify for weekend play.

NO REGRETS: Roberto Diaz, the Mexico golfer who got into the starting field after Phil Mickelson’s late withdrawal, saw his hopes of making the 36-hole cut disappear when he opened the second round with a 40.

Diaz was just happy to have a chance to play in his first U.S. Open, though he was in constant limbo in the days leading up to it as Mickelson’s participation loomed as a possibility.

“I thought Phil was going to come. I always did,’’ said Diaz. “I thought he was going to somehow pull it off, but I didn’t want to put my hopes up and then see my hopes go down. I prepared the whole week to play, but I was prepared to not play.’’

ANOTHER WD: Mickelson wasn’t the only notable withdrawal. England’s Danny Willett, the 2016 Masters champion, pulled out, too. He complained of a sore back after shooting 81 on Thursday.

MIXED BAG: Stephan Jaeger, who won the Web.com Tour’s Rust-Oleum Championship at Ivanhoe Club last Sunday, continued his solid play. The German’s 71-73 start qualified him for the weekend rounds at the U.S. Open for the first time.

Andy Pope, the only player with a Chicago residency connection in the 156-man field, shot 77-75 and missed the cut, marring his third straight appearance at the U.S. Open.

ERIN, Wis. – Phil Mickelson ended the suspense before first round play began in the 117rh U.S. Open. He officially withdrew from the championship, ending speculation that he might make a dramatic last minute arrival at the first tee.

Mickelson had said he would skip the Open to attend his daughter Amanda’s high school graduation in California, but his caddie Jim Mackay was on hand to scout the course this week and Mickelson was pondering the possibilities of a weather delay that might allow for his participation.

A runner-up in the Open a record six times, Mickelson had played in 23 consecutive Opens and 26 overall. His spot in the field was taken by Roberto Diaz of Mexico who hit his first tee shot as Mickelson’s replacement at 2:20 p.m.

Diaz, 30, shot 65-70 in a sectional qualifier in Summit, N.J., and was first alternate from that site. He’s playing in his first U.S. Open.

BLIMP CRASH: A commercial blimp – one not affiliated with either the U.S. Golf Assn. or the tournament broadcast, crashed in an open field a half-mile from the course four hours after play began.

First responders were quick to arrive at the scene, and the pilot was treated for unknown injuries that weren’t thought to be serious. No other people were involved in the incident, which is under investigation from local law enforcement personnel.

At least two of the players saw the blimp go down.

“My caddie made a comment on the ninth hole,’’ said Brandt Snedeker. “He said the blimp is not looking good. I guess it was nose down. I saw a puff of black smoke but didn’t know it was a blimp. Glad everybody is OK.’’

“I saw it happen,’’ said Charley Hoffman. “My caddie said `that thing blew up.’ I didn’t see it explode. I saw it fluttering down through the sky.’’

FIRST AND LAST: Wisconsin native Jordan Niebrugge had the honor of hitting the first tee shot at 6:45 a.m. He shot 1-under-par 71 while playing with former Oklahoma State teammates Talor Gooch and Kevin Dougherty.

“We played solid, all three of us,’’ said Niebrugge. “We had a lot of the OSU family and a lot of friends following us. All of us had a lot of fun.’’

The only player with Chicago connections was the last to tee off. Andy Pope, who grew up in Glen Ellyn and developed his game at Medinah, went off at 2:45 p.m. Though he has only conditional playing privileges on the Web.com Tour Pope is playing in his third straight U.S. Open.

FAMILY TIME: Dru Love, 23-year old son of PGA Tour veteran Davis Love III, bettered par in his first round as a pro and his first in the U.S. Open. He shot 71 and became the third Love to play in the tournament. Davis’ father and Dru’s grandfather, Davis Love Jr., was a famous teaching professional who died in an airplane crash in 1988. He competed in six U.S. Opens.

“The course played easier than I expected,’’ said Dru Love, who used his father as his caddie. “The greens were a lot faster than I imagined they would be. I didn’t think the course was going to be this firm. I thought it would be softer with all the rain.’’

Dru, who played college golf at Alabama, is actually Davis Love IV. He goes by Dru as a shortened version of “quadruple.’’

STILL ROLLING: Stephan Jaeger had two wins in his last three tournaments on the Web.com Tour, the latter being last Sunday in the Rust-Oleum Championship at Ivanhoe Club.

In between his two Web.com wins the Germany-born Jaeger was medalist at his U.S. Open sectional qualifier, and Thursday his solid play continued at Erin Hills. He shot 71 to start his second appearance in the championship.

Stephan Jaeger took care of business on Sunday, nursing a four-stroke lead at the start of the day to nab a two-stroke win in the $600,000 Rust-Oleum Championship. Now it’s on to the U.S. Open.

The Germany-born Jaeger survived a 36-hole U.S. Open sectional qualifier on Monday before claiming the $108,000 first prize in the Web.com Tour stop at Ivanhoe Club. That boosted Jaeger into the top spot on the Web.com Tour money list and assured him a place on the PGA Tour next season.

And still bigger things are looming, starting with next week’s U.S. Open at Wisconsin’s Erin Hills.

“I can’t wait to get started next week,’’ said Jaeger. “It will be a tough week with a lot of fast, firm greens – a lot like this week, honestly. This week was probably a good preparation for next week.’’

Most of the 156 qualifiers haven’t played 11-year old Erin Hills, but Jaeger has. He competed in the 2011 U.S. Amateur there but knows the course has undergone some major changes since then.

One thing that Jaeger knows he’ll have going is momentum. He won the BMW Charity Pro-Am on the Web.com Tour three weeks ago and showed some flashes in the following week’s event prior to earning his U.S. Open berth and winning at Ivanhoe.

“Momentum’s a factor, it really is, and I’m playing better than I ever have,’’ he said.

That’s saying something because last year Jaeger made major golf history when he became the first player to shoot 58 in a PGA sanctioned tournament. He did that at a Web.com Tour event in California, but Jim Furyk received much more notoriety when he matched the score in a subsequent PGA Tour stop.

Jaeger, 28, really had only one player to beat in Sunday’s breezy final round at Ivanhoe. Ted Potter Jr., a lefthanded golfer with a PGA Tour win on his resume, played one group in front of Jaeger and got within one shot after Jaeger made bogey at the par-5 ninth.

That was no big deal to either player. Potter didn’t realize he had closed the gap that much after starting four back and Jaeger answered quickly with a 10-foot birdie putt at the par-3 eleventh. He got his lead back to what it was at the start of the day, four strokes, when his chip at the par-5 14th hit the flagstick and left him with a tap-in for birdie.

Jaeger coasted in from there, a meaningless bogey on the final hole the only blemish on his tactical play over the last four holes.

Jaeger, Potter and nine other players who competed at Ivanhoe will head for Erin Hills on Monday to begin preparations for Thursday’s start of the year’s second major championship and the first ever in the state of Wisconsin.

“I’m sure it’ll be different at the Open, but it was nice to see wind and fast, firm greens here,’’ said Potter. “That should help me some next week.’’

Like Jaeger, Potter has played in a previous U.S. Open. He competed at Merion, in Philadelphia, is 2013. Jaeger was in the field at Chambers Bay, in Washington, in 2015.

After the Erin Hills Open is history both will resume play on the Web.com Tour, though their play at Ivanhoe likely assured both places on the PGA Tour next year. Potter won the Greenbrier Classic on the premier circuit in 2012 before declining play relegated him to Web.com events.

With two Web.com wins already this season, Jaeger wants to get one more before the years is out. Any three-time winner in the same year on the circuit get a “battlefield promotion,’’ meaning he automatically becomes a PGA Tour member and won’t have to wait until the following year to get into the bigger money tournaments.

With winds blowing steadily at 25 miles per hour and gusting to 35 at times Saturday didn’t figure to be a good day for scoring at the Rust-Oleum Championship. A couple players apparently didn’t get that memo, however.

Alexandre Rocha, who started the day in a tie for 52nd place, shot an 8-under-par 64 and climbed all the way up to a tie for second in the $600,000 Web.com Tour event at Ivanhoe Club.

Stephan Jaeger teed off just as Rocha was holing his final birdie putt on the 18th green, and he found a way to score, too. Posting a 68, Jaeger wound up the only player ahead of Rocha entering today’s final round.

Rocha, a 39-year old from Brazil who played collegiately at Mississippi State, had been struggling with his game. His frustrations spilled out in an interestingly worded Tweet on Friday night.

“I really need to get the good and evil voices inside my head to work in a bipartisan way so we can all achieve some success,’’ he tweeted.

After completing his hot round on Saturday he said the Tweet was just a joke, but admitted “I’ve been playing well but my mind gets in the way.’’

Not much got in the way on Saturday as Rocha hit the flagstick twice, the ball dropping for eagle on one at No. 14. He also made six birdies in getting within one stroke of the course record.

“Doing 8-under is fantastic. That’s really golfing your ball,’’ said the 28-year old Jaeger, who was born in Germany and played collegiately at Tennessee-Chattanooga.

As impressive as Rocha’s round was, Jaeger still takes a four-stroke lead into Sunday’s final 18. Rocha is tied with Andrew Landry, Jaeger’s playing partner on Saturday, and Ted Potter Jr.

Wind or no wind, Jaeger will be tough to beat. He’s the first player to shoot 58 in a PGA-sanctioned event, having gone 12-under en route to winning the Ellie May Classic at TPC Stonebrae in Hayward, Calif., last year. He had just conditional status on the Web.com Tour then. That 58 was later matched by Jim Furyk in a PGA Tour event.

Now Jaeger’s magic might be coming back. He won the BMW Charity Pro-am three weeks ago in Greenville, S.C., then opened the next tournament — the Rex Hospital Open in Raleigh, N.C. –, with a 65. He faded to a tie for 60th place in the next three rounds but bounced back in Monday’s 36-hole U.S. Open qualifier to earn a spot in next week’s major event at Wisconsin’s Erin Hills.

The good play has carried over to Ivanhoe, where Jaeger was a solid 68-67-68 in the first three rounds. His mother flew directly to Chicago from Germany after learning Jaeger had qualified for the U.S. Open. She was also on hand when he shot the record 58 and has seen all three rounds at Ivanhoe.

Saturday’s was highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 ninth, Jaeger hitting a 6-iron second shot to seven feet. His short game kept him in the lead after that, as he played the back nine in even par despite hitting only two greens in regulation. He was the only player in the last nine groups to better par in Saturday’s windy conditions.

“Weather like that made for a very, very tough round of golf,’’ he said. “It get funky out there. It’s such a grind, so tiring. I don’t think anybody’s comfortable playing in the wind. We’ve just got to learn how to play in it.’’

Thirteen-under-par was good enough to win the first Rust-Oleum Championship at Ivanhoe last year, and champion Max Homa came from seven strokes back in the final 18 holes to win. Homa’s on the PGA Tour now. He won $108,000 for his victory, and the same first prize is on the line today.

The Illinois PGA pros used to dominate their amateur counterparts in the annual Radix Cup matches at Oak Park County Club, but no more.

Though the IPGA owns a 35-19-2 overall edge the amateurs won for the 10th time in the last 18 meetings on Wednesday. The CDGA’s best took a 10-8 victory. Neither team, though, has won two in a row since 2000.

Wednesday’s competition was decided in the fourth and fifth of the day’s six matches, both swept by the amateurs against two of the professionals’ strongest teams. Kyle Nathan, of Glen View Club, and Chadd Slutzky, of The Grove in Long Grove, swept Skokie’s Garrett Chaussard, who played in a U.S. Open sectional qualifier on Monday, and University of Illinois coach Mike Small, who has won the IPGA Championship a record 12 times and the Illinois Open four times.

“It was a fun day even though we didn’t play great,’’ said Chaussard, who played for Small as a student-athlete at Illinois. “They just played better and beat us.’’

The clinching points came from amateurs Charlie Netzel, of Chicago Golf Club, and Kyle Slattery, of Mauh-Nah-Tee-See in Rockford. They dominated Medinah’s Traveis Johns, a perennial contender in the IPGA events, and Hinsdale’s Matt Slowinski, a three-time IPGA Assistants player of the year before he took his present position. Johns is the reigning Illinois PGA player-of-the-year.

If any player should have received a special invitation to the first U.S. Open ever played in Wisconsin it would be Steve Stricker. He won 12 PGA Tour events including the 1997 Western Open and three straight John Deere Classics from 2009-11. He’s also the current U.S. Presidents Cup captain.

U.S. Golf Association leaders, however, didn’t think Stricker, at 50, merited that honor for next week’s 117th U.S. Open at Erin Hills in suburban Milwaukee. The snub drew criticism in golf circles, but in the end it didn’t matter. Stricker saw to that on Monday when he was medalist at a sectional qualifier at Germantown Country Club in Tennessee.

Stricker shot 67-65, and his 132 total for 36 holes was 10 under par. Though he never complained about not receiving an Open invite, he’s happy he’ll be played in the tournament for the 20th time next week.

“If means a lot,’’ he said. “Not getting an exemption was a motivational factor. Not that I deserved one, but it’s been driving me to achieve this goal. And, I’m just happy that I’m going to get to play. It’s a relief to get to play in the first one in my home state.’’

He doesn’t have much inside knowledge of Erin Hills, which opened just 11 years ago. The biggest event played there so far has been the 2011 U.S. Amateur.

“I’ve played it maybe a half-dozen times,’’ said Stricker. “I’ll be like everybody else next week – playing a few practice rounds and trying to find an extra 20 yards on my driver. It’s a big golf course.’’

Stricker beat a field that included a number of PGA Tour players preparing for this week’s St. Jude Classic in Memphis.

Monday is traditionally called “the longest day in golf’’ for good reason. All the U.S. sectionals for the Open – 10 this year — are played at 36 holes on the same day, and 902 players competed for 72 spots in the 156-man field that tees off at Erin Hills on June 15.

The Erin Hills Open started with 8,979 players and that number was whittled to 525 after 114 local qualifiers were played across the U.S. and Canada in May. As always Chicago area players were prevalent in the sectional eliminations but only one, Andy Pope, earned a place at Erin Hills on Monday.

Pope, a 33-year old who grew up in Glen Ellyn and played collegiately at Xavier, tied for second in a sectional at Canoe Brook in Summit, N.J. He’ll be heading to Erin Hills with loads of momentum. Last week he tied for 17th in the Web.com Tour’s Rex Hospital Open in North Carolina.

The top 25 in a Web.com Tour event earn places in the following week’s event, so Pope earned a played in the $600,000 Rust-Oleum Championship, which tees off on Thursday at Ivanhoe Club.

While Pope made it to the Open on Monday, several others with Chicago connections could only come close. Arlington Heights amateur Doug Ghim, who played for Texas in last week’s NCAA Championships at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, missed qualifying for Erin Hills by just one shot in a sectional at Springfield, Ohio. He tied for fifth in a sectional that offered only four spots in the Open proper and Ghim’s 69-65 effort, 6-under-par, wasn’t quite good enough.

The field at Springfield was loaded with Chicago players and among those coming up short was Illinois junior Nick Hardy, who used the Springfield sectional to advance to the 2015 and 2016 U.S. Opens. This time he came up five shots short, as did Illinois teammate Dylan Meyer and Deerfield Web.com Tour player Vince India.

Others who couldn’t earn spots in the biggest tournament in American golf on Monday included three players with Illinois roots who have won multiple times on the PGA Tour — Luke Donald, D.A. Points and Mark Wilson.

Illinois didn’t play its best golf on Monday in the final round of stroke play at the NCAA Championships. Coach Mike Small even had to talk tough to his players late in the round at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove.

“But that was exactly what we needed. We needed someone in our face,’’ said junior star Dylan Meyer, who lost out on his chance for the individual title after shooting a 77.

The bottom line is the Illini are still playing for the national championship. They go into Tuesday’s match play quarterfinals as the No. 3 seed and will play No. 6 Southern California. A win would put them against either No. 2 Oklahoma or No. 7 Baylor in the afternoon semifinals. Morning matches tee off at 7 a.m. and the afternoon matches at 1:30 p.m.

The other bracket has morning matches pitting top-seeded Vanderbilt against No. 8 Nevada Las Vegas and No. 4 Oklahoma State against No. 5 Oregon. The title match is at 2:20 p.m. on Wednesday.

Small, who has taken his last 10 teams to the NCAA tournament and guided six of the last seven into the match play climax to the event, said the 17th hole was the key to survival on Monday when 15 teams battled for the eight match play spots.

“We were leaking oil bad. Most of our players had cotton mouth. It was a stressful time,’’ said Small. “We weren’t controlling our space. I told them they had to look at this as a blessing.’’

The players responded, playing the 17th in 1-under-par. Meyer, playing in the fifth spot after going off third in the first three rounds, put some life back into his teammates with a 5-iron approach to the green and a 12-foot birdie putt.

Sophomore Edoardo Lipparelli followed with an eagle at the par-5 18th. His second shot, a 6-iron from 181 yards that he had to bend around a tree, stopped 25 feet from the cup and Lipparelli rolled in the putt to stir up the Illini faithful surrounding the green.

“It was a great experience in front of the crowd. To finish like that is pretty amazing,’’ said Lipparelli, who plans to turn pro as soon as the tournament is over.

That could be on Wednesday if the Illini win both their matches todayand reach the championship match. Last year the Illini lost to eventual champion Oregon in the semifinals when the Ducks enjoyed playing on their home turf. Now the Illini have that advantage, albeit with a young team.

Small is without a senior on this squad, but juniors Meyer (the reigning Western Amateur and Big Ten champion) and Nick Hardy (the Illinois Amateur titleist) are battle-hardened. Two freshmen – Michael Feagles and Giovanni Tadiotto – join Lipparelli in rounding out the team.

Small has had stronger teams, but he’s not afraid of the youth that this one possesses. He also had two freshmen on his 2013 team that went to the NCAA title match before losing to Alabama.

“This team is similar to that one,’’ said Small. “We were ranked 40th in the country in March that year. We weren’t very good.’’

But the Illini rallied late to have their best NCAA finish so far. This team is relatively inexperienced as well, but playing close to campus is a plus. Rich Harvest galleries have been dominated by fans dressed in orange all week.

“We try to let the players know that this is a fun thing,’’ said Small. “The fans aren’t out there to judge you, they’re out there to support you.’’

Meyer, who shook off a bout with ulcerative colitis – an inflammation of the large intestine — that hospitalized him for three days immediately before the NCAA regionals, believes he’s healthy and his teammates are ready to finish the job. He wound up tied for sixth as an individual, six strokes behind champion Braden Thornberry of Mississippi, but winning the team title was the top goal all along.

“I feel all right, and now we’re going to get that match play championship,’’ he said. “That’s what we came here to do – play solid golf and win at all cost.’’

The individual champion will be crowned Monday in the NCAA men’s golf championship at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, and that player could well be Illinois junior Dylan Meyer.

Meyer starts the fourth round in a tie for third among the individuals, three strokes behind Scottie Scheffler of Texas. Scheffler, after three straight rounds of 4-under-par 68, stands as 12-under 204 for the first 54 holes, two strokes ahead of Mississippi’s Braden Thornberry.

Meyer (71-67-69) is tied with Mattias Schwab of team leader Vanderbilt. If Meyer should rally to win the individual title it’ll be a great testament to his determination in the face of a major health scare.

The week before the Illini were off to West Lafayette, Ind., for their NCAA regional qualifier the junior from Evansville, Ind., was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, an inflammation of the large intestine. He spent three nights at Carle Foundation Hospital in Champaign while hospital personnel administered him intravenously.

He left the hospital the day before the Illini departed for the regional and his play there wasn’t typical of the season he had before that. One of three finalists for the coveted Ben Hogan Award as the nation’s top college player, Meyer shot 75-74-75 at West Lafayette and tied for 28th place among the individuals.

Without superb play by fellow junior Nick Hardy, who shared medalist honors, the Illini might not have made it to Rich Harvest for the final. Hardy, who visited Meyer every day while he was in the hospital, sparked an Illini rally in the final 27 holes of the regional as the team climbed from sixth place to third. Only the top five teams qualified for the finals at Rich Harvest.

Meyer’s game returned to its former self in Saturday’s second round of the finals and he shot a sizzling 31 on Rich Harvest’s front side on Sunday to climb the individual leaderboard.

If Meyer wins he would become Illinois’ third NCAA individual champion in seven years. Scott Langley ruled in 2010 and Thomas Pieters in 2012. Meyer downplayed his run at the individual title after Sunday’s round, however.

“Of course you want to play well for yourself,’’ he said, “but now is the time to play for your brothers. We’re finishers. We’re grinders. We want to win stroke play. We want to win match play. We’ll bring a stronger mindset tomorrow and won’t settle for second. We’re going to hunt. That’s when we play our best.’’

As a team the Illini are in fifth place, four strokes behind Vanderbilt. Vandy is at 18-under-par 846 followed by Oklahoma, Nevada Las Vegas and Southern California – all tied for second at 847. The top eight teams advance to the two-day match play portion of the tournament on Tuesday. That’s where the team champion will be determined.

“We’re not looking to make it into the eight spots,’’ said Meyer. “We’re looking to win.’’

“Illinois thinks about the top of the leaderboard,’’ said Hardy. “Our goal is the top seed.’’

Coach Mike Small, who has taken his last 10 teams to the NCAA tournament, doesn’t think seeds are all that important. His 2013 team finished second and his last two wound up third in the NCAA finals.

“I don’t think seeds matter,’’ said Small. “They should seed by how you’re ranked nationally.’’

To reach match play, though, the Illini need another solid round by five players – Meyer, Hardy, sophomore Edoardo Lipparelli and freshmen Michael Feagles and Giovanni Tadiotto – on Monday. For Lipparelli that’s extra important as the NCAAs will be his last event before turning professional.

“It’s pretty special,’’ said Lipparelli, who is from Italy. “It’s my last amateur event, and I’m excited about having a new page in my life, but I want to make this tournament memorable for me and my teammates.’’

The miserable weather that plagued the NCAA women’s golf championship last week unfortunately carried over to the men’s event as well.

Friday’s first round of the men’s competition at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove couldn’t be completed, and Big Ten champion Illinois is one of the teams with holes left to play today before the second round can begin.

The Illini stand in a tie for fifth place with all of the team’s players through 10 holes. Freshman Michael Feagles, the first Illini to tee off, set a fast pace for his teammates and stands in a tie for third individually at 3-under-par through 14 holes.

“He was huge, and I’m excited for him,’’ said junior Nick Hardy, playing in the fifth spot. “He’s carrying us this round.’’

Coach Mike Small felt the same way.

“The guys did a great job,’’ he said. “They had a good nervous about them, but they were going about their business. I’m very happy.’’

The Illini had 1 p.m. as their first tee time and play was stopped at 3:04. After two false starts play resumed at 6:50 p.m. and was stopped by darkness at 8 p.m.

Vanderbilt, at 8-under through 15 holes, was the team leader followed by Auburn, which had completed play at 6-under. Oklahoma State (5-under through 15) and Southern California (4-under through 15) also led the Illini, who were in a tie for fifth at 3-under with Nevada-Las Vegas, Louisiana State and Baylor.

Defending champion Oregon, which is paired with the Illini in the first two rounds, is tied for 11th and Texas, featuring Arlington Height native Doug Ghim, is tied for 14th.

Small had no problem with the delays, but admitted they required adjustments.

“At first we were building for a great day. We were at 4- or 5-under, then the rain came,’’ he said. “After that we played strong, given the conditions. Delays are all part of golf. The rain came, then the wind. The course changed dramatically in 15 minutes.’’

Some of the early starters did finish their rounds. They included Dawson Armstrong, who won the Western Amateur at Rich Harvest in 2015, and Trent Wallace, the first Illinois State golfer to play in the national finals since the Redbirds’ team made it in 1975. That squad included D.A. Weibring, the veteran PGA Tour player. Wallace qualified for the finals as an individual.

Armstrong, who is part of the David Lipscomb team qualifier, shot 1-under-par 71, which put him in a tie for 24th place and five strokes behind Mississippi’s Braden Thornberry, who posted the low individual round of opening day – a 66.

A holed bunker shot by Armstrong two years ago decided the Western Amateur title in a playoff. Course owner Jerry Rich has been urged to install a plaque commemorating Armstrong’s winning shot but so far hasn’t done it.

“It’d be a little weird putting a plaque in a bunker,’’ said Armstrong, “but it would be cool to put it beside the bunker.’’

Armstrong said he would return to this year’s Western Amateur, which will be played at Skokie Country Club. Illinois’ Dylan Meyer will also defend his title, so the prestigious amateur event will have the rarity of the two most recent past winners in its field.

Wallace, a sophomore from Joliet, shot 73 and called the course “a beast.’’ He was greeted by 40-50 cheering fans at the first tee and received a handshake from Gov. Bruce Rauner, who made a 90-minute visit. Though Wallace is an in-state player he is making his first visit to Rich Harvest.

A national championship eluded the Northwestern women’s golf team Wednesday, but you wouldn’t have known it by their post-tournament meeting with the media. It was non-stop clowning until coach Emily Fletcher was called on to reflect on the weeks’ surprising developments.

NU had a so-so regular season, was dethroned as Big Ten champion and finished second in its regional qualifier. In the finals at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, however, the Wildcats were amazing until their last match.

Arizona State, winning the team title for a record eighth time, handled the Wildcats 3-1-1 but that was hardly a downer for a Northwestern team that made its fifth straight appearance in the NCAA finals its best one yet.

“A tremendous week,’’ said Fletcher. “We talked about doing this, but getting here was pretty amazing. It was a surreal experience.’’

Kacie Komoto, the only senior on the team, was the only match winner against Arizona State.

“It’s been a blur,’’ she said. “We all feel very blessed to be here.’’

Sophomore Janet Mao, who put NU in the final match thanks to a dramatic win in a 19-hole morning semifinal match, said the team’s surprising showing was an indication of things to come.

“This was a testament that we can do anything if we put our minds to it,’’ she said. “It’s a big stepping stone to what we can do in the future.’’

Komoto will be gone, but Mao and Stephanie Lau are just sophomores and Sarah Cho and Hannah Kim are juniors. They’ll be back and expecting bigger things next year.

Their highlight on the final day of the weather-plagued tournament wasn’t the final match. It was what it took to get there. The Wildcats won the stroke play portion of the tournament and then took 3-2 wins over Kent State and Southern California to earn a shot at the title.

The semifinal matches were to be completed on Tuesday but miserable weather prevented that. A 2-hour 20-minute delay in play when lightning was detected in the area led to both Final Four matches being completed on Wednesday morning. NU trailed in four of its five matches against USC was darkness halted play but the Wildcats were a new team the next morning.

Cho and Kim rallied to take 2 and 1 victories to put NU ahead 2-0 but Komoto and Lau dropped their matches to even the team battle at 2-2. That left the fate of both teams up to the only players left on the course – Mao and USC senior Gabriela Then.

The Mao-Then match went to extra after Mao won the 18th hole. Both were left with testy par putts on the playoff hole. Mao rolled hers in from six feet, then Then’s stopped a revolution short of the cup. NU players mobbed Mao to complete a stirring team comeback and the emotion of the big win carried over to Fletcher as well.

“They just believed in each other,’’ said Fletcher, who has taken her team to the last five NCAA finals. “They felt there was fight left in them, and they kept fighting.’’

Now, after five days of women’s play, the scene changes to the men. The University of Illinois will be among the favorites in the 30-team field when four rounds of stroke play tees off on Friday.