MOBILE, Ala. – The Illinois men's golf team, ranked No. 20 nationally in the NCAA Division I men's team rankings, is set to officially open its spring season, traveling to the Gulf Coast to compete in the 2024 Hal Williams Collegiate. The two-day event is hosted by the University of South Alabama, and will be played Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 12-13.
THE SETTING
The Hal Williams Collegiate is held at the Magnolia Grove Crossings Golf Course in Mobile, Ala. The course - part of Alabama's Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail - has been rated as one of Golf World Magazine's "Top 50 Public Courses." It features a Par-71 layout that stretches 7,178 yards.
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
The 54-hole tournament will be played over two days with 36 holes set for Monday, followed by the final 18 on Tuesday. Each day is scheduled to begin with a shotgun start with Monday opening at 8 a.m. CT and Tuesday set to start at 8:30 a.m. CT.
THE FIELD
The tournament field features 14 programs highlighted by six ranked inside the top 100 of the NCAA team rankings: Davidson, Illinois (20), Kansas State (69), Kent State (66), Louisiana, Louisiana Tech, LSU (33), Memphis (99), Oral Roberts, Seton Hall, South Alabama, Southern Miss, Texas State, and VCU (56).
FIGHTING ILLINI LINEUP
No. 1: Jackson Buchanan
No. 2: Max Herendeen
No. 3: Ryan Voois
No. 4: Timmy Crawford
No. 5: Jerry Ji
-----------------------------------------------
Individual: Tyler Goecke
Individual: Piercen Hunt
Individual: Ethan Wilson
ILLINI AT THE HAL WILLIAMS COLLEGIATE
The Illini have previously competed at the Hal Williams Collegiate - formerly known as the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate – six times, including each of the last four seasons. Illinois enters the 2024 event as the defending tournament team champion, having won the 2023 Hal Williams Collegiate by 13 strokes with a 36-under tally of 816. The Illini also claimed the team title in 2021 with a tournament-record score of 827 (-37), behind a record individual performance from former Illini Michael Feagles who shot a 200 (-16) to earn medalist honors. The team placed second in 2020, and third in 2022, and also played in the tournament in back-to-back seasons in 2012 and 2013, finishing fourth and third, respectively.
Current members of the Illini roster have combined to play in the event 11 times over the last four seasons entering Monday. Fifth-year senior Jerry Ji is playing in the event for a fifth time. He previously finished 15th as a freshman in 2020 and was runner-up behind Feagles in 2021, before a T56 finish as a junior in 2022. Last season, Ji tied for 25th as an individual competitor in the field. Piercen Hunt, playing as an individual, will tee off for the third time as an Illini in Mobile, where he has recorded a T12 finish in 2023 and a T7 finish in 2022, following a T67 as an indy competitor in his freshman season in 2021. Junior Jackson Buchanan makes his third consecutive start at the Hal Williams and followed his freshman finish of T28 with a T4 in last year's team win. Sophomore Ryan Voois teed off as an individual in 2023 and finished in a tie for 63rd.
Newcomers Timmy Crawford, Tyler Goecke, Max Herendeen, and Ethan Wilson, will all play in the event for the first time as Illini this week.
LIVE SCORING
Live scoring for the 2024 Hal Williams Collegiate will be available at SouthAlabama.LeaderboardKing.com. A recap and results will be posted on FightingIllini.com following each day of play.
UP NEXT
The Illini return to the course, Feb. 25-27, 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. Illinois won the 2023 Southern Highlands Collegiate in thrilling fashion, rallying from 10 shots down in the final round to come away with the team title.
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.
