WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Fighting Illini men's golf team, ranked No. 20 nationally in the latest Golfweek team rankings, and No. 21 in the most recent GolfStat ratings, is back on the course this weekend to compete in the 18th annual Boilermaker Invitational, hosted by Purdue University on Saturday and Sunday.
THE SETTING
The 18th annual Boilermaker Invitational will be hosted at Purdue's Ackerman-Allen Course for the first time in the event's history. The previous 17 were all held at the Kampen Course which is undergoing renovations. The Ackerman-Allen Course is 7,546 yards and Par 72. It was renovated by Pete Dye in 2016.
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
The 54-hole tournament will be a five-count-four format played over two days, with 36 holes slated for Saturday, followed by Sunday's final round. Saturday begins with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. ET/8 a.m. CT.
THE FIELD
The Boilermaker Invitational features a 14-team field vying for the title, including six Big Ten programs. The Illini, 20th in the latest Golfweek team rankings, are one of three top-50 teams in the field, along with host Purdue (31) and Indiana (50). Wisconsin (96), Rutgers (111) and Minnesota (134) round out the Big Ten contingent. The rest of the field is made up of Indiana State (119), Troy (137), Miami (OH) (153), Eastern Michigan (266), Ball State (163), Loyola Chicago (194), Butler (240) and IUPUI (273). Â
FIGHTING ILLINI LINEUP
No. 1: Tommy Kuhl
No. 2: Adrien Dumont de Chassart
No. 3: Piercen Hunt
No. 4: Jackson Buchanan
No. 5: Jerry Ji
Individual: Luke Armbrust
Individual: Nico Lang
LIVE SCORING
Live scoring for the Boilermaker Invitational will be available on GolfStat.com. A recap and results will be posted on FightingIllini.com following each day of competition.
ILLINI AT THE BOILERMAKER INVITATIONAL
The Fighting Illini are teeing off in their 13th Boilermaker Invitational. The Orange and Blue have had great success in the event, winning a tournament-record four team titles with back-to-back wins in 2009 and 2010, and again in 2015 and 2016. Illinois holds the 18-hole (20-under 268) and 54-hole (35-under 829) team scoring records for the event, both set in 2015.
Four former Illini have taken home medalist honors a tournament-record six times: Chris DeForest (2010), Luke Guthrie (2012 and 2013), Thomas Detry (2015 co-medalist), and Charlie Danielson (2015 co-medalist and 2016). At the 2015 event, Illini finished 1-4 with Dylan Meyer and Brian Campbell placing third and fourth, respectively, behind co-medalists Detry and Danielson.
In last year's event, the Illini finished second by a two-stroke margin behind Kent State. Then-junior Adrien Dumont de Chassart led the Illini and finished in a tie for fourth at 213 (-3). Jerry Ji tied for ninth with 214 (-2) and Tommy Kuhl placed in a tie for 14th at 215 (-1).
As a freshman last season, Piercen Hunt tied for fourth at the Boilermaker Individual event, which was held concurrently at the Ackerman-Allen Course. Hunt shot a 3-under 213.
UP NEXT
The Illini will be back in action, April 23-24 in Columbus, Ohio, competing the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate. The event is hosted by Ohio State at the Columbus Country Club.
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