GRAND HAVEN, Mich. – The No. 8-ranked Fighting Illini posted the lowest team score of the day for the second consecutive round, running away with a 15-stroke victory behind top-11 individual finishes from all four scorers at the inaugural Folds of Honor Collegiate at American Dunes Golf Club.

The Illini used another strong start to open Wednesday's final round, and continued to push throughout the day en route to a 54-hole team tally of 854 (-10), led by sophomore Jackson Buchanan's closing 68 (-4).

"It was a solid tournament," said head coach Mike Small, who recorded his 79th team tournament title at the helm of the Illinois program. "We played Illinois golf most of the week, especially the last two rounds. We tidied things up around the greens. The conditions were tough, but we got off to a good start today. When you have a lead in team golf going into the last round, you have to really push out and hold your lead, and not allow the momentum to go sideways on you. We got off to a good start today, got a lead, and never relinquished it. That's strong golf, and that's what I'm proud of."

Buchanan was key to Illinois' strong start, opening his final round with birdies on Nos. 1 and 2. He was 3-under at the turn and added another birdie on 10 to move to minus-4.  Following a bogey on 12, Buchanan carded the team's lone eagle of the day, on the par-5 13th,  moving into position to challenge for the individual title. A bogey on 16 moved him to 4-under and he closed with three straight pars to secure a tie for third, his career-best finish in a 54-hole collegiate event.

"I was very proud of Jackson and the way he played all week," added Small. "He got better and got stronger, as the week went on, and played more fearless golf. He built good momentum as the week went on, and it's good for a young player to do that. The 68 today was big; the last round of the tournament - to have a young player come out and shoot that bodes well for this team."

Fifth-year seniors Adrien Dumont de Chassart and Tommy Kuhl each shot final rounds of even-par 72 to notch their second straight top-five finishes to open the 2022-23 season.

Dumont de Chassart finished one shot out of the lead for the second time in as many events, matching Buchanan's 4-under 212 but coming in just behind Liberty's Jonathan Yaun who edged NC State's Maximilian Steintechner in a playoff after each carded a 211 (-5) for the week. Dumont de Chassart, currently No. 5 in the PGA Tour University rankings, also tied for second by one stroke at the season-opening OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational, and has now tallied top-5 finishes in six of his last eight collegiate events dating back to March.

Kuhl tied for fifth with a 3-under 213 to secure the seventh top-5 finish of his collegiate career. He also placed fifth in the opener at Olympia Fields and has recorded five top-5s in his last 14 stroke-play events dating back to the start of the 2021-22 season.

Junior Piercen Hunt also contributed to the Illini's strong start in Round 3 and closed out the scoring the team scoring with a final round of 73 (+1). He finished the week 1-over with a three-round total of 217, to tie for 11^th, while Matthis Besard, in just his second event as an Illini, tied for 38^th in the 90-player field with a score of 226 (+10)

As a team, the Orange and Blue were the only program to finish under par, followed by second-place Arizona at 869 (+5). No. 14-ranked Florida State finished 10-over, while Oregon State (+13) and Liberty (+15) rounded out the top-5 in the team standings.

UP NEXT
The Illini will return to action, Oct. 17-18, for the Dayton Flyer Invitational. The event will be held at NCR Country Club in Kettering, Ohio.

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