Ask Barnhart about Small's brilliance here

OLYMPIA FIELDS – The Illinois PGA Championship brings out the best in Mike Small.

The Illinois golf coach and Danville native won his record eighth consecutive title with a 4-under-par 67 in the final round, finishing with a 54-hole total of 200. His margin of victory was 11 strokes better than first-round co-leader Travis Johns.

"It doesn't get old winning this," Small said. "We are all competitors, and it's fun to win and have success at something you cherish. To have a favorable outcome against these guys means a lot. They are my friends and I've known them for a long time, but in the end, it's still a competition."

Small's margin of victory and 54-hole total are believed to be Illinois PGA Championship records.

"There are so many good players in Illinois," Small said. "If I don't shoot that round yesterday (63 in round 2) it's a whole different deal. That was a big relief and took the pressure off me to win today because if it was close, it would have added more pressure on me."

Small won $12,500 with his ninth Illinois PGA Championship overall. His only blemish in the past decade was a playoff loss to Bob O'Link Golf Club PGA head golf professional Gary Groh in 2002.

"I won a few of these in a row, and I didn't want the streak to end here," Small said. "I was thinking about that a little but hoping it didn't happen."

Small, along with the next 12 finishers, received an exemption to play in the 44th PGA Professional National Championship on June 26-29 at Hershey (Pa.) Country Club – site of the 1940 PGA Championship.

Illini check in at No. 16. Illinois is ranked 16th in the Golf World/Nike Top 25 preseason coaches' poll, which was released Wednesday.

The Illini return three of the five players who competed on their 19th-place NCAA Championships team last spring, including defending individual champion Scott Langley. Illinois also was No. 19 in the final coaches' poll last season.

Small's Illini were the only Big Ten team in the preseason Top 25. Fellow conference members Iowa and Michigan received votes.