CHAMPAIGN, Ill – Fighting Illini men's golf is set to continue the spring season at the Southern Highlands Collegiate next week. Hosted by UNLV, the 54-hole tournament will be held at Southern Highlands Golf Club in Las Vegas, Nevada, March 6-8.

"This tournament is always a great test for us early in the spring," head coach Mike Small said.  "With both the golf course, which is really difficult and challenging, and the top-ranked field, this tournament will help us continue to improve, and allow us to play in different conditions and different parts of the country."

The Southern Highlands Collegiate consistently welcomes a strong field of teams each season. The 2017 Southern Highlands field features 10 teams ranked among the top-25 according to the latest Golfweek Sagarin rankings. The No. 4-ranked Illini will be joined by No. 2 Florida, No. 3 Oklahoma State, No. 7 USC, No. 9 Texas Tech, No. 10 Stanford, No. 11 Oklahoma, No. 17 UNLV, No. 23 San Diego State, No. 25 Arizona State, No. 34 Pepperdine, No. 48 New Mexico, California, SMU and TCU.

A three-day event, the tournament will be played on the Par 72, 7,510-yard course at Southern Highlands Golf Club. The Illini will play 18 holes each day, with tee times beginning at 11 a.m. CT.

The Illini are coming off of a fourth place finish at the Louisiana Classics, highlighted by a career-low 66 in the opening round from junior Nick Hardy. Both Hardy and junior Dylan Meyer earned finishes among the top-10 at the tournament as well. Hardy was named Big Ten Co-Golfer of the Week for his performance.

Live scoring for the Southern Highlands Collegiate will be available on Golfstat, and fans can follow @IlliniMGolf on Twitter for even more live updates.