No. 22 Illinois to Close Regular Season at Lady Buckeye

	Lady Buckeye Invitational
When	April 13-14, 2019
Where	The Ohio State University Golf Club - Scarlet Course \| Columbus, Ohio
Live Links	Scoring \| Updates
More Information	Media Guide \| Pairings

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The No. 22 Fighting Illini women's golf team will make a short trip to the Buckeye state for their regular season finale at the Lady Buckeye Invitational in Columbus, Ohio. Illinois will make its 14th straight appearance at the tournament, slated for April 13-14.

"We are eager to compete again as we had a strong round going this past Tuesday before play was canceled at the Clemson Invitational," said head coach Renee Slone. "After a day to focus on academics and catch our breath, we will have a recovery workout and short practice session before we depart this evening for the Lady Buckeye Invitational. This golf course is always great preparation for the postseason."

The Scarlet and Gray hosted event will take place at The Ohio State University Golf Club's par-72, 6,319-yard Scarlet Course. The two-day, 54-hole tournament will be off split tees beginning at 7:30 a.m. CT / 8:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, while Sunday's play will have a shotgun start at 7:30 a.m. CT / 8:30 a.m. ET.

A rainy weekend awaits the 12 teams with The Weather Channel forecasting temperatures in the mid-to-high 60s and thunderstorms on Sunday in Columbus.

The Illini will be going against a strong field of 11 other teams that includes three teams ranked in Golfweek's top 50 No. 9 Kent State, No. 19 Michigan State, and No. 49 Maryland. The rest of the field includes host Ohio State, Indianapolis, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Rutgers, Seton Hall, and Toledo.

Of the 12 teams, a pair of teams (Kent State and Ohio State) advanced to the 2018 NCAA Championships, while the Illini and Michigan State participated at NCAA Regionals. With two-thirds of the field representing the Big Ten, Illinois is one of the eight teams representing the conference alongside No. 19 Michigan State, No. 49 Maryland, Ohio State, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Rutgers.

The tournament format will be the same as the conference tournament, with a 'play six, count four' scoring format. The lineup for Illinois this weekend will be Bing Singhsumalee, Tristyn Nowlin, Ali Morallos, and freshmen trio, Kornkamol Sukaree, Crystal Wang, and Katie Hallinan. In the first round, Illinois will go in the order of Halllinan, Morallos, Wang, Singhsumalee, Nowlin, and Sukaree on hole No. 1 starting at 8:40 a.m. CT / 9:40 a.m. ET.

Last season, the final round of play was canceled at this tournament last season due to heavy rain. Reverting to a 36-hole tournament total, the Illini won with 579 (+3). Former Illini Grace Park tied for first with a career-best finish after carding rounds of 69 (-3) and 72 (E). Nowlin tied for fourth with identical rounds of even-par 72.

The Tournament Venue

The Lady Buckeye Invitational will be played at The Ohio State University Golf Club (Par 72, 6,319 yards) in Columbus, Ohio. Rated as one of the top collegiate courses in the nation by Golf Channel, the Illini will play on the renowned Scarlet course, which was recently renovated by Jack Nicklaus in 2006. The club has hosted numerous events such as the Kepler, Lady Buckeye, AJGA, OHSAA Division I state high school championship and the WEB.com Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship.

Last Time Out

After thunderstorms caused the final round of play at the Clemson Invitational to be canceled, the 22nd-ranked Fighting Illini women's golf team finished fourth with the program's best 36-hole tournament total of 574 (-2). By five, the par surpasses the previous record (579 (+3)) earned at the Lady Buckeye Invitational last season. The Orange and Blue also recorded their seventh top-five finish on the season.

Illinois was led by freshman Kornkamol Sukaree, who surpassed former Illini Grace Park for the best 36-hole tournament finish in program history with 140 (-4). Returners Tristyn Nowlin matched Illini legend, Becky Beach, for the second-lowest 36-hole tournament total with 143 (-1), while Bing Singhsumalee has the 10th best 36-hole total with a 145 (+1).

Finishing at the top was No. 8 Vanderbilt with an impressive 555 (-21), while NCAA Championships participant, Auburn, finished second with 563 (-13). Rounding out the top-three was host Clemson at 568 (-8).

Next Round – Postseason

With the regular season in the books, the Orange and Blue will head to the Big Ten Championships in Maineville, Ohio on April 19-21. The three-day competition will have the same tournament format as the Lady Buckeye Invitational with a 'play six, count four' scoring format. Last season, Illinois tied for second with Maryland with 863 (-1). The runner-up finish was the team's best conference tournament finish since 1976. Michigan State won the championship at 5-under par.

Follow the Illini

Stay tuned to FIGHTINGILLINI.com for all the latest information on Fighting Illini Women's Golf. Follow the Orange and Blue on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for complete coverage.

Schedule