CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois Women's Golf is headed for the second of its five regular season spring competitions, opening play on Friday, March 11, in Augusta, Georgia, at the 3M Augusta Invitational. The event is slated for three rounds of golf across three days from the Forest Hills Golf Club.
Illinois and Maryland will be the only Big Ten representatives at the Augusta University-hosted event. The 16-team field contains five programs ranking in the top 50 currently in the Golfstat rankings. Florida State leads the pack, coming in at No. 17, while Texas A&M ranks just behind them at 21st. No. 33 Furman, No. 35 East Carolina and No. 42 Augusta will also be competing at the event. The Illini enter the weekend with the next highest ranking in the field at No. 56.
Traveling for the Illini will be the familiar faces of Dana Gattone, Stephanie Miller, Grace Park, Chayanid Prapassarangkul and Bing Singhsumalee. The group traveled to all five of Illinois' fall competitions as well. Making her fourth collegiate individual appearance will be sophomore Pailin Ruttanasupagid, who competed at the Minnesota Invitational and Cardinal Cup in the fall, and the Westbrook Spring Invitational.
Competition will open on Friday, March 11, with tee times ranging from 8:30-10:50 a.m. CT. Saturday's action will kick off with tee times between 8:30-10:50 a.m. CT as well. Round three play will begin Sunday morning at 8 a.m. CT with a shotgun start.
The Forest Hills Golf Club in located in Augusta, Georgia, and is 6,214 yards in length. Course par is 72 with the front and back holes each holding a par of 36.
At last year's event, Coastal Carolina went home as both the team and individual champions. The team shot an overall reading of 867 and was led individually by Lena Schaeffner who shot a 209 (-4).
Stay tuned to FIGHTINGILLINI.com for all the latest information on Fighting Illini Women's Golf as the team continues the spring season. Follow the Orange and Blue on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for even more coverage.
