OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. – The No. 9-ranked Fighting Illini men's golf team opened play Friday at the 17th OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational at Olympia Fields Country Club where it sits in a tie for fifth place, behind solid Round 1 performances from a trio of newcomers, with 36 holes remaining.
True freshman Max Herendeen and graduate transfers Timmy Crawford and Tyler Goecke combined to shoot 1-over par, helping the Illini remain in the hunt against a loaded field that includes 14 of 15 teams ranked or receiving votes in the first GCAA Coaches Top-25 poll of the season.
Herendeen and Crawford each balanced three bogeys with three birdies on the day, finishing at even-par in a tie for 15th, while Goecke sits one shot back in a tie for 25th with just one blip on his scorecard - a bogey on the Par-4 12th hole.
Junior Jackson Buchanan and sophomore Ryan Voois each carded an opening 74 (+4), rounding out the Day 1 scoring for the Illini in a tie for 57th.
True freshman Ethan Wilson, who is making his collegiate debut this weekend, is tied for 35th at 72 (+2) to lead a group of three Illini competing as individuals; senior Piercen Hunt and fifth-year senior Jerry Ji each shot 73 (+3) to move into a tie for 42nd in the 81-player field.
After one round of play, No. 11 Texas leads the team standings with a 276 (-4), one shot ahead of No. 4 Georgia Tech (277). Top-ranked North Carolina (281) and No. 5 Florida State (283) sit just ahead of the Illini in third and fourth place, respectively. The Illini are tied for fifth with No. 2 Arizona State and No. 13 Alabama at 285 (+5). Stanford's Karl Vilips and Georgia Tech's Christo Lamprecht each opened with 5-under 65 and share a one-stroke lead atop the individual leaderboard.
Round 2 is set to tee off Saturday beginning at 8 a.m. CT. The Illini, paired with FSU and ASU, begin at 8:45 a.m. Live scoring is available throughout the tournament on Golfstat.com.
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