SAUCIER, Miss. – The Fighting Illini men's golf team carded the second-lowest team round of the day, a 10-under 278, in Sunday's second round at the Fallen Oak Collegiate Invitational.
Several Illini posted improved efforts in Round 2 – highlighted by a bogey-free, career-low round of 67 (-5) by true freshman Trey Marrion. The Orange and Blue combined to score 20 shots better than their Round 1 tally to jump into fourth place at even-par in the team standings heading into Monday's finale at Fallen Oak at Beau Rivage Resort's Fallen Oak Course.
Marrion, playing in his fourth consecutive event in the Illini lineup to open his collegiate career, followed his 75 (+3) in Round 1 with his 67 on Sunday to vault 36 spots up the leaderboard where he sits three shots behind 36-hole leader Frankie Harris of South Carolina. Marrion's tally not only marked a career-low through his first 11 collegiate rounds, but also ranks as the third-lowest individual score through the first two rounds of this week's event.
Senior Jackson Buchanan nearly matched Marrion in Round 2, carding a 68 (-4) with just one bogey on the day, coming late in his round on No. 16. He is one stroke behind Marrion in a tie for 10th in the individual race at 143 (-1).
Sophomore Max Herendeen and junior Ryan Voois rounded out the scoring for the Illini lineup in Round 2, sitting in at T16 and T23, respectively, to give Illinois four players inside the top 25. Herendeen shot a 2-under 70 in Round 2 to move to 145 (+1) overall, one stroke ahead of Voois' 146 (+2).
Sophomore Ethan Wilson recorded his second straight round of 75 and is tied for 46th in the 75-player field at 6-over par. Freshman Jake Birdwell (+7), competing as an individual, improved five strokes from Round 1 (79) to Round 2 (74) and is tied for 61st.
The 15h-ranked Illini are 13 strokes off the pace of co-host and No. 2-ranked Ole Miss (-13). No. 5 LSU (-9) and No. 23 South Carolina (-2) sit just ahead of Illinois in second and third, respectively. No. 29 Georgia (+2) rounds out the top five in the team race two shots behind the Illini.
The Illini tee off in Round 3 on Monday beginning at 8:50 a.m. CT. Live scoring is available on Golfstat.com.
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