EUGENE, Ore. – The No. 21-ranked Fighting Illini men's golf team overcame a slow start in Round 1 of the Duck Invitational to finish Monday's second round in a tie atop the team leaderboard with host Oregon at Eugene Country Club.
Illinois opened the day with a team score of 10-over 294 to sit in a tie for 10th after 18 holes, but the Orange and Blue responded in a big way during the afternoon round by posting the day's lowest score - a 6-under 278 - to vault nine spots up the leaderboard into a tie for first with 18 holes remaining on Tuesday.
The Illini are knotted at 572 (+4) with host and 24th-ranked Oregon, but only four strokes separate the top seven teams. No. 89 Utah (573) is third, followed by No. 64 Colorado State (574) in fourth. No. 30 Oklahoma State and No. 53 San Jose State are tied for fifth at 575, just one shot ahead of No. 41 Northwestern (576) in seventh.
Two Illini sit inside the top 10 of the individual race, with junior Jackson Buchanan pacing the team in a tie for second with a 36-hole tally of 140 (-2) and freshman Ethan Wilson sitting two shots behind Buchanan in a tie for sixth.
Buchanan shot a 2-over 73 in Round 1 and was even-par through 12 holes in his second round before closing with birdies on four of his final six holes. That strong finish pushed Buchanan 24 spots up the leaderboard where he sits three strokes out of first entering Tuesday's finale at 140 (-2). Buchanan's second-round score of 67 (-4) marked his team-leading ninth round in the 60s through 22 rounds this season.
Ethan Wilson buoyed the IIllini throughout the day, carding back-to-back rounds of even-par 71. Wilson, who teed off on No. 2 to begin his day, was 5-over after eight holes. But five birdies on a bogey-free back nine in Round 1 helped the freshman get back on track, and in Round 2 he was able to answer each of his three bogeys with a birdie to remain in the hunt.
Like Buchanan, freshman Max Herendeen and sophomore Ryan Voois also made big jumps after lackluster Round 1 performances. Herendeen followed his opening 76 with a 70 in Round 2 to move 35 spots into a for 32nd at 146 (+4). Voois also posted a 70 in Round 2, seven strokes better than his opening 77. He rose 32 places during the afternoon where he tied for 41st at 147 (+5). Fifth-year Tyler Goecke (74-74–148) is tied for 46th at 6-over.
Round 3 is scheduled to begin with a shotgun start at 10:30 a.m. CT/8:30 a.m. PT. The Illini will tee off of Holes 1-4, grouped with Oregon, Utah, and Colorado State. Live scoring for Round 3 will be available on GolfStat.com.
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