GALLOWAY, N.J. – The Fighting Illini men's golf team, ranked No. 3 nationally in the latest Golfstat team rankings, tees off this week at Galloway National Golf Club for the 2023 Big Ten Men's Golf Championship.
The Orange and Blue are in search of the program's eighth consecutive conference title, their 13th in the last 14 league championships dating back to the 2008-09 season, and the program's 20th Big Ten crown overall.
THE SETTING
The 2023 Big Ten Men's Golf Championship is hosted at Galloway National Golf Club in Galloway, N.J. Described as a "world class private golf club with the New Jersey shoreline as its backdrop that would challenge the serious golfer," Galloway National was completed in 1995. The course overlooks 5,000 feet of bay front property that is just north of the Atlantic City skyline. With its dramatic contours, ideal soil, lush wooded coverage, and breathtaking vistas, the course has become one of the most highly ranked in the country.
The design and construction of the course was commissioned to Tom Fazio, who said that Galloway National is blessed with all the ingredients that make a water front course so endearing and so challenging. The gentle contours, dense pine forest, sand, water, and wind are all the raw materials needed to construct Galloway National.
Galloway National Golf Club has hosted many championships for the New Jersey State Golf Association, Golf Association of Philadelphia, NCAA, and USGA. Most notably the club hosted the 2012 USGA Men's State Team Championship.
The course was also the site of the 2009 NCAA Men's Golf Northeast Regional, where the Illini placed third, led by Scott Langley who tied for seventh to help the Illini advance through to the NCAA Championship. The next season, Langley would go on to claim the individual national title at the 2010 NCAA Men's Golf Championship.
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
The 54-hole tournament will be played over three days, Friday-Sunday, with 18 holes slated for each day. The low four scores will count towards the team score in each round. Tee times for Friday and Saturday begin at 9 a.m. ET/8 a.m. CT. Sunday's final round is scheduled to tee off beginning at 8 a.m. ET/7 a.m. CT, and will be immediately followed by the awards ceremony.
THE FIELD
The field will include all 14 Big Ten men's golf programs. The Illini, No. 3 in the latest Golfstat team ratings, are one of four top-50 ranked teams in the league, along with Ohio State (25), Northwestern (28), and Purdue (36). Michigan State (61), Indiana (67), Wisconsin (74), Iowa (76), Rutgers (79) and Penn State (100) all rank in the top-100, followed by Minnesota (103), Michigan (112), Nebraska (113), and Maryland (200).
FIGHTING ILLINI LINEUP
No. 1: Adrien Dumont de Chassart
No. 2: Piercen Hunt
No. 3: Tommy Kuhl
No. 4: Matthis Besard
No. 5: Jackson Buchanan
Alternate: Ryan Voois
ILLINI AT THE BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP
The 2023 Big Ten Men's Golf Championship marks the conference's 103rd championship tournament dating back to 1920 and the 102nd for the Fighting Illini who have competed for the league title every year except for 1929 when only seven programs played in the event. No tournament was held in 2020.
Illinois ranks second all-time with 20 conference championships, and sits in the lead spot in the Big Ten record book with 26 individual medalists (top-3 finishers). Illini have also captured the individual conference championship 21 times.
Under head coach Mike Small, the Illini have won 12 of the last 13 Big Ten Championships dating back to the 2008-09 season, including a conference-record seven straight. During the Mike Small era, the Illini also won or shared the individual title for nine consecutive seasons between 2011 and 2019, the longest streak in Big Ten history.
Among members of the Illini lineup, fifth-year seniors Adrien Dumont de Chassart and Tommy Kuhl, junior Piercen Hunt, and sophomore Jackson Buchanan all enter play this week with Big Ten Championship experience. Dumont de Chassart will play in the event for the fourth time, having won the individual and team titles in 2019 as a true freshman at Philadelphia Cricket Club, leading the Illini in 2021 with a tie for second at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Ind., and pacing the team to a victory with another individual runner-up performance in 2022 at The Pete Dye Course in French Lick, Ind. Kuhl, the team's alternate in 2019, tied for 10th in his first Big Ten Championship at Crooked Stick in 2021, and tied for 27th last year in French Lick. Hunt was the alternate for the Illini at Crooked Stick in 2021 before he and Buchanan each made their debut at the 2022 tourney, finishing T9th and T33rd, respectively, in the Illini's thrilling one-stroke victory. Fifth-year senior transfer Matthis Besard, in his first year as an Illini after four seasons at Southern Illinois, and true freshman Ryan Voois – the team's alternate this weekend – are each set to participate in their first Big Ten Championship.
LIVE SCORING
Live scoring for the Big Ten Championship will be available on Golfstat.com. A recap and results will be posted on FightingIllini.com following each day of competition.
UP NEXT
Following the Big Ten Championship, the Fighting Illini will await the selection of the 2023 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship field, which will be released as part of Golf Channel's College Central coverage on Wednesday, May 3 at 1 p.m. ET/12 p.m. CT.
Auburn University Club (Auburn, Ala.; host: Auburn), The Cliffs at Keowee Falls (Salem, S.C.; host: Clemson), Eagle Eye Golf Club (Bath, Mich.; host: Michigan State), Bear's Best Las Vegas (Las Vegas, Nev.; host: UNLV), Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club (Norman, Okla.; host: Oklahoma), and The Institute Golf Club (Morgan Hill, Calif.; host: San Jose State).
The NCAA National Championship will be played on the Raptor Course at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., May 26-31. Illinois will be in search of the program's 14th NCAA Championship berth in the last 15 seasons dating back to 2008, their 16th trip under Mike Small, and 29th overall.
FOLLOW THE #ILLINI
For more Fighting Illini men's golf news, stay tuned to FightingIllini.com and follow @IlliniMGolf on social media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook.
