CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – University of Illinois men's golf head coach Mike Small announced the program's 2023-24 schedule on Monday (Aug. 7), setting the stage for another highly anticipated and competitive season for the Fighting Illini program.
For the second straight season, the Illini will play host to two premier collegiate events, one at historic Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill., early in the season, and another at the Atkins Golf Club at the University of Illinois in Urbana, in the team's final test leading into postseason play.
"Our schedules are purpose-built each year to provide our team with the physical and mental growth that they will need to achieve both their individual and team goals, and this year is no exception" Small said. "We will challenge ourselves at first-class events throughout the 2023-24 season, competing against top programs in the NCAA while playing many of the best courses in the world. Additionally, we are excited to host our own premier event at Olympia Fields Country Club, now in its 17th season, and also host the second annual Fighting Illini Spring Collegiate held right here at the Atkins Golf Club."
SEPTEMBER
The fall schedule opens Sept. 9-10 when the Fighting Illini tee off against an elite field at the Sahalee Players Championship at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Wash. The tournament – formerly one of the world's top amateur events boasting a 30-year tradition – has changed to a collegiate event for the first time in 2023 and will be hosted by the University of Washington. The individual champion is also slated to earn an exemption the following week at the PGA Tour's Fortinet Championship in Napa, Calif.
Following play in the Pacific Northwest, Illinois hosts another of the season's most prestigious collegiate events at Olympia Fields, as the Fighting Illini welcome 14 peers for the 17th annual OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational. Contested on the Par-70, 7,310-yard North Course, the event annually offers a demanding but fair early-season test that attracts one of the best fields in collegiate golf.
Programs in the 2023 tournament field have combined to account for 17 of 24 spots in the NCAA Championship match play finals since the current format began in 2009. In addition to each of the last five national title winners – Florida (2023), Texas (2022), Pepperdine (2021), Stanford (2019), and Oklahoma State (2018) - the Illini also welcome Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Michigan State, North Carolina, and Purdue. All of the programs in the field competed in the 2023 NCAA Regionals last May, including 11 that advanced to stroke play at the NCAA Championship and seven of the eight squads that closed the season in match play vying for the championship trophy at Grayhawk.
OCTOBER
October brings three more strong challenges, beginning with a pair of Midwest tests, and culminating with a prestigious match-play event at one of the world's top courses.
The Illini open the month with back-to-back events in Big Ten country, first traveling to nearby West Lafayette, Ind., to play in the Purdue Fall Classic at the Boilermaker's Ackerman-Allen Golf Course. The following week, Oct. 17-18, the Orange and Blue will tee off as the defending champions at the Flyer Invitational, hosted by the University of Dayton at NCR Country Club in Kettering, Ohio.
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, hosted by Stanford, will once again give the Orange and Blue a unique challenge against some of the other top programs in the country.
JANUARY
The spring schedule begins, unofficially, on Jan. 27 when the Illini tee it up in Placida, Fla., for the Tinervin Cup, an annual match-play event that pits the Orange and Blue against program alumni in an exhibition. The event offers the squad a chance to test themselves at one of the top courses in the state of Florida – Coral Creek Golf Club – as they prepare for the spring schedule.
FEBRUARY
February marks the official open of the spring schedule for the Illini, Feb. 12-13, at the Hal Williams Collegiate, hosted by South Alabama at Magnolia Grove Country Club's Crossings Course in Mobile, Ala. The Illini have competed in the event in each of the last four seasons, securing team wins in 2021 and 2023.
Illinois closes the month, for the third straight season, with a tough test at the Southern Highlands Collegiate, in Las Vegas, Nev. The event, hosted by UNLV, annually draws a strong field of championship-caliber programs to test themselves on a challenging desert track, with the Illini returning to defend their 2023 win.
MARCH
As the calendar turns to March, the Illini are set to play a pair of events that are new to the schedule. First, the team heads to scenic St. Simons Island, Ga., where they will tee off at The Johnnie-O at Sea Island, hosted by Big Ten foe Rutgers, March 11-12.
Two weeks later, March 25-26, the Illini head back to the Pacific Northwest to compete in the Duck Invitational, hosted by the University of Oregon at Eugene Country Club.
APRIL
April begins with the Illini returning to the epicenter of the golf world, 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 6-7, concluding on the eve of Masters week.
Following play in Augusta, the Orange and Blue return home where they will close out the regular season with the Fighting Illini Spring Collegiate, April 20-21. Now in its second year, the Fighting Illini Spring Collegiate allows the Illini to host a top-tier college event at the program's championship-caliber Atkins Golf Club at the University of Illinois, located just minutes from the team's state-of-the-art on-campus practice facility.
POSTSEASON
The Fighting Illini's 2024 postseason run begins April 26-28 at the Big Ten Championship. The Orange and Blue are in search of their ninth-consecutive Big Ten title – and their 14th out of the last 15 dating back to 2009. The 2024 Big Ten Championship will take place at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio.
NCAA Regionals are slated for May 13-15, and will be held at one of six sites around the country: The University of Texas Golf Club (Austin, Texas), University Club (Baton Rouge, La.), UNC Finley Golf Course (Chapel Hill, N.C.), The Farms Golf Club (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.), Stanford Golf Course (Stanford, Calif.), and Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex (West Lafayette, Ind.).
The NCAA National Championship is set for the Championship Course at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif., May 24-29. Illinois will enter the 2024 postseason in search of the program's 15th NCAA Championship berth in 16 years dating back to 2008.
Tournament dates and times are subject to change. Stay tuned to FightingIllini.com for the latest on Illinois men's golf.
