OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. – The No. 10-ranked Fighting Illini men's golf team, coming off a tie for first place in the season opener at the Hoosier Collegiate, returns to the course as the host team for the 15th annual OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill, Friday-Sunday.
THE SETTING
The OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational will be contested on the North Course at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill., once again providing a demanding but fair test for a field that includes some of the nation's best players and programs. The course will feature a Par 70, 7,205-yard layout.
Over the years, the famed club has been home to several premier events, having hosted the U.S. Amateur (2015), two U.S. Opens (1928, 2003), two PGA Championships (1925, 1961), a U.S. Senior Open (1997), plus five Western Opens (1920, 1927, 1933, 1968, 1971) and the 2020 BMW Championship.
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
The 54-hole tournament will be played over three days with 18 holes slated for each day of competition. Tee times for Rounds 1 and 2, on Friday and Saturday, respectively, begin at 8 a.m. CT. Sunday's final round tee times are set for 7:30 a.m. CT.
THE FIELD
The 2021 OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational field is made up of some of the nation's most successful collegiate golf programs. Alongside defending national champion and preseason No. 1-ranked Pepperdine, the No. 10 Illini welcome (RV) Alabama, No. 22 Arizona, No. 3 Arizona State, (RV) Baylor, (RV) California, No. 17 Florida, No. 12 Florida State, Indiana, No. 4 North Carolina, No. 2 Oklahoma State, Purdue, No. 15 Stanford, and No. 5 Texas.
FIGHTING ILLINI LINEUP
No. 1: Adrien Dumont de Chassart
No. 2: Tommy Kuhl
No. 3: Jerry Ji
No. 4: Piercen Hunt
No. 5: Nico Lang
Individual: Luke Armbrust
Individual: TJ Barger
Individual: Jackson Buchanan
Individual: Dylan Keating
ILLINI AT THE OFCC/FIGHTING ILLINI INVITATIONAL
The Orange and Blue have taken home the team title at the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational a record three times (2008, 2014 and 2016). Two Illini golfers have also captured medalist honors in the event, with Zach Barlow and Dylan Meyer each tying for top honors in 2008 and 2014, respectively.
Four current Illini golfers – seniors Luke Armbrust, Adrien Dumont de Chassart, and Tommy Kuhl, and junior Jerry Ji – have previously competed in the tournament. Dumont de Chassar (T-24 in 2019) owns the best individual finish among current Illini.
MORE OFCC/FIGHTING ILLINI INVITATIONAL HISTORY
Aside from Illinois' three team titles, Oklahoma State (2007 and 2018) is the only other program to have won multiple OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational championships. Other 2021 participants to have previously won the event are: Arizona State (2009), Florida (2010), Stanford (2011), Alabama (2013), Florida State (2015), and Baylor (2019).
Stanford has produced a tournament-record five medalist finishes from three golfers: Patrick Rodgers (2011 and 2012), Cameron Wilson (2013), and Maverick McNealy (2014 and 2015). Oklahoma State golfers have taken home four individual titles: Rickie Fowler (2007), Trent Whitekiller (2009), Peter Uihlein (2010) and Matthew Wolff (2018). Alabama is tied with Illinois with two medalists: Robby Shelton (2013) and Davis Riley (2017). Other medalists from programs participating in the 2021 event are: Arizona State's Niklas Lemke (2006), Indiana's Alex Martini (2008), and Baylor's Cooper Dossey (2019).
LIVE SCORING
Live scoring for the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational will be available on Golfstat.com. A Recap and results will be posted on FightingIllini.com following each day of play.
UP NEXT
The Illini travel to Fayetteville, Ark., to compete in the Blessings Collegiate Invitational hosted by the University of Arkansas at Blessings Golf Club, site of the 2019 NCAA Championship, Oct. 4-6. A unique event that features both the men's and women's teams from each of the 10 participating schools, the Blessings will be televised with daily coverage from 3:30-6:30 p.m. CT on GOLF Channel.
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