SAVOY — For Mike Wallner, the low point amid the COVID-19 pandemic probably happened at some point in April.

It’s when the University of Illinois Golf Course Director, looking around at the 18-hole Orange course and 18-hole Blue course he’s in charge of, wasn’t sure when he might see golfers walking around again.

“I was mowing rough on the grounds crew for three weeks just to be able to do something,” Wallner said.

Six months into the pandemic that has caused havoc in all of our lives, Wallner is in a better spot. So is area golf. The UI Course just hosted its annual Two-Man Better Ball event last weekend, an outing that Wallner wasn’t sure would have transpired if you had asked him back in the spring.

“Our hope was to have it in conjunction with the Illinois football game on Friday night (against Illinois State) and then have the Better Ball on Saturday-Sunday,” Wallner said. “That obviously didn’t work out, but we had a good tournament with good players. Everything went about as well as could be expected, except for the two-hour rain delay on Sunday.”

Turnout at the Better Ball was lower than what the outing usually gets, with 56 two-man teams competing last weekend in an event that David Keenan and Mike Peters won for the second straight year. In a normal year, Wallner said the outing usually attracts around 70 two-man teams.

“We did tee times, so there was no gathering around before their round,” Wallner said. “People played, posted their scores and then they left. I think people are just glad to be able to play in a tournament, for starters, because there have been so many that have been postponed. We have been following the guidelines that have been set for us. We’ve just got to make it work.”

The return of the high school golf season — albeit on a smaller scale with no multiple team tournaments — has seen a few more events at the UI Courses, with Centennial and Champaign Central calling the venue home. Getting the chance last month to host former Flyin’ Illini standout Kendall Gill’s annual golf outing that benefits Cunningham Children’s Home in Urbana was another highlight. Even if these events haven’t gone off like they typically have.

“It’s just been a strange year, but we’re dealing with it,” Wallner said. “June, July and August have all been really good months. That’s good to see. Hopefully that trend will stay going in that direction.”

Still to come on Wallner’s to-do list in 2020: trying to host the UI Open. The event has been held annually since 1963 and was scheduled to go off in June, but the pandemic had other ideas.

“I’m trying to find a date. It may end up being in October and it may just be an 18-hole deal on a Saturday,” Wallner said. “I’m waiting to see if they’re going to play football at Illinois. If they ever do that, I’d like to try and coordinate the UI Open around that.”