OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. – The Fighting Illini men's golf team, ranked No.. 11 in the first GCAA Coaches Top-25 Poll of the season, opens the 2022-23 season as the host team for the 16th 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, 7,310-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 2022 OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational field is made up of some of the nation's most successful collegiate golf programs:
- Eleven of the 15 teams in this year's field are ranked or receiving votes in first GCAA Coaches Top-25 Poll released Sept. 9. In addition to the 11th-ranked Illini, OFCC will host No. 2 North Carolina, No. 3 Florida, No. 5 Arizona State, No. 7 Oklahoma State, No. 9 Texas, No. 10 Pepperdine, No. 15 Stanford, No. 18 Florida State, No. 25 Arizona, and Alabama, which is receiving votes.
- Teams in the 2022 OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational field have combined to account for 14 of 20 spots in the last 10 NCAA Championship match play finals, including each of the last four national title winners: Texas (2022), Pepperdine (2021), Stanford (2019), and Oklahoma State (2018)
- The field combined to tally 11 berths into the 2022 NCAA Regionals last May, with nine programs that advanced to stroke play at the NCAA Championship and five of the eight programs that closed the season in match play vying for the championship trophy at Grayhawk.
FIGHTING ILLINI LINEUP
No. 1: Jackson Buchanan
No. 2: Piercen Hunt
No. 3: Tommy Kuhl
No. 4: Adrien Dumont de Chassart
No. 5: Matthis Besard
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Individual: Nico Lang
Individual: Jerry Ji
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 of the five members of the Illini lineup and both of the Illini's individual competitors in the field this weekend have previously competed in the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational.
- Fifth-year seniors Adrien Dumont de Chassart and Tommy Kuhl will each tee off in the event for their third time. Dumont de Chassart posted his best finish in the event last year in 12th place, while Kuhl's best finish in the event came as an individual competitor during his freshman campaign (T42 in 2018).
- Matthis Besard, a graduate transfer from Southern Illinois, finished fifth in the team's qualifier and will make his debut at Olympia Fields.
- Sophomore Jackson Buchanan and junior Piercen Hunt, the Illini's top two qualifiers, are each playing in the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational for the second time. Hunt tied for 42nd last year, while Buchanan played as an indy and finished 73rd.
- Seniors Jerry Ji and Nico Lang will each compete as individuals this year. Ji is making his third appearance at OFCC where he led the Illini with a 10th-place finish last year. Lang tied for 78th in last year, his first event in the Illini lineup.
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 2022 participants to have previously won the event are: Arizona State (2009), Florida (2010), Stanford (2011), Alabama (2013), Florida State (2015), Baylor (2019), and defending champion North Carolina (2021).
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 2022 event are: Arizona State's Niklas Lemke (2006), Indiana's Alex Martini (2008), Baylor's Cooper Dossey (2019), and North Carolina's Austin Greaser who returns after winning last year's event by two strokes.
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 Grand Haven, Mich., to compete in the Folds of Honor Collegiate hosted by Michigan State and the GCAA at American Dunes Golf Club, Sept. 26-28. This new event, will feature of field of 18 programs, with proceeds benefitting Folds of Honor, a nonprofit organization that provides educational scholarships to the spouses and children of military members who have fallen or been disabled while serving in the United States Armed Forces, and the GCAA Presidential Scholarship Fund.
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