KETTERING, Ohio – Illinois fifth-year senior Timmy Crawford finished first as an individual competitor to claim medalist honors for the first time in his collegiate career, while the Illini placed second as a team at the Flyer Invitational hosted by Dayton at NCR Country Club.
Crawford shot 64-66 on Monday and remained hot during Tuesday's final round with a closing 67 to secure the 10-stroke victory over the rest of the field. His 54-hole tally of 197 (-16) not only marked a career-best effort, but tied for the second-lowest 54-hole tournament score in Illinois program history.
Sophomore Ryan Voois posted his second straight top-10 finish, leading the Illini scoring lineup and finishing tied for fourth with a three-round score of 5-under. Voois' 208 (72-68-68) also marked a career-best 54-hole total.
Senior Jerry Ji finished with a 1-under 70 in Tuesday's final round to factor into the Round 3 scoring for the Illini and jump 10 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for 43rd at 220 (+7).
The rest of the Illini lineup – junior Jackson Buchanan, fifth-year senior Tyler Goecke, and freshman Max Herendeen – all closed with final rounds of 72 (+1) to secure top-20 finishes. Buchanan tied for eighth at 209 (-4), Goecke shot an even-par 213 to finish tied for 18th, one shot ahead of Herendeen in a tie for 20th at 1-over.
Freshman Ethan Wilson, who qualified alongside Crawford as an individual competitor, finished his third collegiate event with a career-low 211 (-2) to grab a share of 11th place.
As a team, the Illini opened the day tied with Marquette atop the leaderboard, but the team's closing 282 (-2) fell one shot short in the race with Golden Eagles who finished at 12-under overall.
UP NEXT
The fall schedule closes at the Cypress Point Classic, Oct. 30-31, at the famed Cypress Point Club in Pebble Beach, Calif. Annually rated as one of the top three courses in the U.S., Cypress Point not only offers the Illini golfers a chance to play one of the world's best tracks, but the Ryder Cup-style format will once again give the Orange and Blue a unique challenge against an elite field of competition that pits the Illini against Arizona State, Auburn, Georgia Tech, Pepperdine, Stanford, Tennessee and Texas.
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