CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois women's golf team continues its spring slate as the Illini head south for the ICON Invitational in Houston, Texas on Monday and Tuesday, February 21-22.
THE SETTING
The ICON Invitational will be held at the Golf Club of Houston, with the course set up for a par 72 and will play 6,247 yards long. Founded in 2003, the Club has two 18-hole courses that have both hosted the Houston Open. The Tournament Course open to both members and the public was designed by Rees Jones and David Toms. As enjoyable to play as it is beautiful, the Tournament course has abundant native plants and wildlife and features finely groomed fairways, well-engineered greens and the challenging bunkers.
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
There will be 15 teams competing in the 54-hole tournament with 36 holes of continuous play on Monday (February 21), followed by the final 18 on Tuesday (February 22). Both days will feature an 8 a.m. CT shotgun start.
THE FIELD
Along with the Illini, the 15-team field includes host Houston, Colorado, Maryland, Michigan State, Mississippi, North Texas, Oklahoma State, Purdue, TCU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas State, Texas Tech and USC.
FIGHTING ILLINI LINEUP
No. 1: Isabel Sy
No. 2: Lexanne Halama
No. 3: Siyan Chen
No. 4: Crystal Wang
No. 5: Kornkamol Sukaree
LIVE SCORING
Live scoring for the Columbia Classic will be available on Golfstat.com. A recap and results will be posted on FightingIllini.com following each day of play.
ILLINI AT THE ICON INVITATIONAL
This will be the first time the Illini will play in the ICON Invitational.
LAST TIME OUT
Illinois finished up action at the two-day, 54-hole Columbia Classic on February 13-14, placing fourth after posting a tournament total of 886 (+22) at the par-72, 6,357-yard Duran Golf Club.
The Illini had three players in the top 20 as sophomore Isabel Sy led the way with a six-over 222 tournament total after carding a three-over 75 in the third round, while freshman Lexanne Halama moved up 10 spots with a one-over 73 on the final day to record her career best finish as she tied for 15th with a seven-over 223. Junior Siyan Chen finished in a tie for 19th with an eight-over 224 tournament total, posting a five-over 77 on the day. Senior Crystal Wang turned in a four-under 68 in her second round, equaling her season-low for a single round.
UP NEXT
The Illini next take on the Briar's Creek Invitational, held at the Golf Club at Briar's Creek in Johns Island, S.C., on March 14-15.
For more Fighting Illini women's golf news, stay tuned to FightingIllini.com and follow @IlliniWGolf on social media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook.
