TUCSON, Ariz. – In the team's first action since rallying for victory at the prestigious Southern Highlands Collegiate, the Illinois men's golf team, rated No. 4 nationally by Golfstat, returns to the desert for the second time in as many events, to match up with a formidable field at the National Invitational Tournament (N.I.T) on Friday and Saturday, March 17-18.
THE SETTING
The N.I.T is hosted by the University of Arizona at the Omni Tucson National Resort Catalina Course in Tucson, Ariz. The Par-72, 7,200-yard course – selected as one of Golf Digest's "75 Best Golf Resorts in North America" – has hosted more than 30 PGA Tour Events.
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
The 54-hole tournament will be a five-count-four format played over two days. Play opens with 36 holes Friday, followed by the final 18 on Saturday. Friday will begin with a shotgun start at 10 a.m. CT/8 a.m. PT.
THE FIELD
The N.I.T. features a 13-team field highlighted by some of the top golf programs in the nation. The Illini, No. 4 in the latest Golfstat rankings, are one of nine teams in the field that are ranked inside the top 30 along with Arizona State (3), Pepperdine (9), Florida (12), Oklahoma (13), host Arizona (18), Colorado State (21), Oklahoma State (22), and San Diego State (27). New Mexico (56), San Diego ( 57), Southern California (68) and Wyoming (111) round out the field.
FIGHTING ILLINI LINEUP
No. 1: Tommy Kuhl
No. 2: Adrien Dumont de Chassart
No. 3: Jackson Buchanan
No. 4: Matthis Besard
No. 5: Piercen Hunt
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Individual: Ryan Voois
Individual: Jerry Ji
LIVE SCORING
Live scoring for the N.I.T. will be available on Golfstat.com. A Recap and results will be posted on FightingIllini.com following each day of play.
ILLINI AT THE N.I.T.
The Illini will tee off in the field at the N.I.T. for the third consecutive season after tying for 5th in an 18-team field in 2021, and tying for 6th out of 15 last season.
Four different Illini have competed in the event in each of the previous two seasons, led by Adrien Dumont de Chassart who tied for seventh in 2021 followed by a fourth-place finish in 2022. Dumont de Chassart shot 11-under as a junior in 2021 and finished at -13 last season. In six-career rounds at the N.I.T., he has finished under par five times, including four rounds in the 60s.
Tommy Kuhl and Piercen Hunt have each finished of T74 (+5) and T53 (+1) in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Hunt was in the field as an individual competitor in 2021. Jerry Ji, who will compete as an indy this year, boasts a T35 (-1) finish in 2021 and a T23 (-4) finish last season. Freshman Jackson Buchanan matched Ji with a T23 (-4) in his first N.I.T. start in 2022.
Matthis Besard and Ryan Voois will each play the event for the first time in their collegiate careers this weekend.
UP NEXT
The Illini return to action in early April, traveling to Augusta, Ga., for the Augusta Haskins Award Invitational. The event is hosted by Augusta University at Forest Hills Golf Club – just miles from Augusta National Golf Club – and takes place April 1-2, concluding just before the Masters tees off April 6.
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