SAMMAMISH, Wash. – The Illinois men's golf team, ranked No. 9 nationally in the first GCAA Coaches Top-25 Poll of the season, opens the 2023-24 campaign this weekend by testing itself against a formidable field in an event new to the collegiate golf schedule at the 2023 Sahalee Players Championship. The two-day event, hosted by Washington, will be contested Saturday and Sunday.
THE SETTING
The Sahalee Players Championship is hosted at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Wash., just 20 minutes outside of Seattle. Sahalee was designed by noted golf course architect Ted Robinson with later renovations by Rees Jones, and it has been consistently ranked as one of the top-100 courses in America by Golf Digest for more than 30 years. The all-weather, year-round course is characteristically Northwest with majestic Douglas fir, red cedar and hemlock trees lining its narrow fairways. Sahalee's 27-holes consist of three 9-hole courses of equal caliber (North, South and East courses), any two of which can be combined to create three unique 18-hole tracks.
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
The 54-hole tournament will be a five-count-four format played over two days, with 36 holes slated for Saturday and 18 on Sunday. Tee times, off Nos. 1 and 10, begin daily at 9:45 a.m. CT/7:45 a.m. PT.
THE FIELD
The Sahalee Players Championship field includes 12 of the nation's top programs vying for the title, including eleven teams ranked or receiving top-25 votes in the GCAA Coaches Poll. The No. 9 Fighting Illini are joined by No. 2 Arizona State, No. 7 Stanford, No. 11 Texas, 15 Pepperdine, No. 16 Oklahoma State, No. 17 Texas Tech, No. 19 Arizona, No. 23 Duke, and No. 25 Wake Forest, plus host Washington, which is receiving votes in the poll, and USC.
FIGHTING ILLINI LINEUP
LIVE SCORING
Live scoring for the Sahalee Players Championship will be available via GolfGenius at https://spc2023.golfgenius.com/pages/4383383. A recap and results will be posted on FightingIllini.com following each day of play.
PGA TOUR EXEMPTION
The individual champion at the Sahalee Players Championship will earn a sponsor's exemption into next week's Fortinet Championship, held Sept. 14-17, at the Silverado Resort North Course in Napa, Calif.
ILLINI AT THE SAHALEE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP
The 2023 Sahalee Players Championship marks the first time that the Fighting Illini will compete in the event which is new to the collegiate golf schedule. The tournament previously boasted a 30-year tradition as one of the world's top amateur events.
UP NEXT
Following play this weekend in the Pacific Northwest, Illinois hosts another of the season's most prestigious collegiate events next weekend, Sept. 15-17, at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill. The Fighting Illini will 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 15 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. Entering play this week, 14 of the 15 teams are ranked or receiving top-25 votes in the first GCAA Coaches Poll of the season.
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.
