STANFORD, Calif. -- The Fighting Illini men's golf team - rated No. 18 in the latest NCAA Division I team rankings - tees off Monday at Stanford Golf Course to begin three days of competition at the 2024 NCAA Stanford Regional hosted by Stanford University. The Orange and Blue are making their 16th consecutive NCAA Regional appearance and are also looking to advance to the NCAA Championship round for the 15th time in the last 16 seasons.
THE SETTING
The 2024 NCAA Stanford Regional is hosted by the Stanford Cardinal at their own Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, Calif. Located in the foothills above the Stanford University Campus, the Stanford Golf Course is consistently rated one of the finest courses in the world. Throughout the years, it has hosted many intercollegiate and non-collegiate events, including U.S. Open Qualifying, Women's NCAA Championships, NCAA Regionals, Pac-12 Championships and the USGA Junior Amateur Qualifying. The course was ranked No. 88 in the world in 1993 by Golf Magazine. In a poll of college golf coaches in 2009, the course was ranked No. 3 in the nation.
Stanford Golf Course opened in 1930 and was designed by famed architects George C. Thomas and Billy Bell Jr. It underwent a renovation by John Harbottle in 2008 and in 2018, all bunkers were rebuilt, and several holes were modified. The sprawling, championship layout (Par 70 / 6,727 yards) is flanked by majestic oak trees and meandering San Francisquito Creek, the latter coming into play on nearly half the course. Each hole offers stunning views of the surrounding mountains, and San Francisco, about 30 miles north, can be seen from the elevated 18th tee.
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
The 54-hole tournament will be played over three days, Monday-Wednesday, with 18 holes slated for each day. The low four scores will count towards the team score in each round, with the top five teams, and the low individual not on one of those teams, advancing to the NCAA Championship.
THE FIELD
The Fighting Illini enter the postseason as the No. 3 seed at the Stanford Regional in a strong field that includes 10 of 14 programs ranked inside the top-60 of the latest NCAA Division I team rankings. In addition to the No. 18-ranked and third-seeded Illini, the field will feature No. 6 Florida State, No. 7 Ole Miss, No. 19 Texas A&M and host and No. 27 Stanford to round out the top-five seeds. UCLA (31), SMU (42), Missouri (43), Fresno State (55) and UNLV (56) are seeded sixth through 10th, respectively, followed by Augusta (75), Liberty (84), Sacramento State (167) and Siena (224) to round out the 15-team field vying for five bids to the NCAA Championship, May 24-29 in Carlsbad, Calif., at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa.
The 10 Individual qualifiers are: Enrique Dimayuga (63), Nevada; Ben Warian (148), Minnesota; Jakob Melin (155), San Francisco; Cole Rueck (445), Boise State; and Joe Sykes (975), Idaho.
FIGHTING ILLINI LINEUP
No. 1: Jackson Buchanan
No. 2: Max Herendeen
No. 3: Ryan Voois
No. 4: Tyler Goecke
No. 5: Piercen Hunt
Alt: Ethan Wilson
ILLINI HISTORY AT THE NCAA REGIONALS
The 2024 NCAA Stanford Regional marks the 22nd regional appearance for the Fighting Illini since 1989, and the 19th under the guidance of head coach Mike Small (since 2000-01), who has now led the program to 16 consecutive regional berths dating back to 2008.
Small's teams have experienced great success in the regional round, having advanced to the NCAA Championship in 16 of his previous 18 regional berths, including a stretch of 13 straight between 2008 and 2021. After narrowly missing out on advancing in 2022 with a sixth-place finish at the NCAA New Haven Regional, the Illini returned to the 2023 NCAA Championship last season with a second-place finish at the NCAA Bath Regional.
Small has also guided the Orange and Blue to five NCAA Regional team titles. This mark is tied for 11th in NCAA history (since 1989) and tied for fourth nationally since 2001, Small's first season as Illinois coach. The Illini's most recent regional title came in 2019 at Myrtle Beach. The Illini claimed four consecutive regional titles in 2013 (Fayetteville), 2014 (Sugar Grove), 2015 (Noblesville), and 2016 (Kohler), the longest streak in NCAA history prior to Oklahoma State's run of six consecutive from 2016-22.
Individually, four different Illini have captured five medalist finishes at regionals. Former Illini Michael Feagles (2019 Myrtle Beach), Nick Hardy (2017 West Lafayette), Brian Campbell (2015 Noblesville and 2014 Sugar Grove), and Luke Guthrie (2011 Central) all took home regional medalist honors during their collegiate careers.
The Illini lineup features a mix of players with multiple years of NCAA Regional experience, and a trio of young golfers getting their first postseason experience.
Junior Jackson Buchanan will make his third straight NCAA Regional start for the Illini. Buchanan tied for 37th at the New Haven Regional in 2022, and finished T43 at the Bath Regional last season.
Fifth-year senior Tyler Goecke, and senior Piercen Hunt will also be making their third starts at the NCAA Regionals, though Goecke is set to make his first as a member of the Fighting Illini. During his time at Wright State, Goecke helped lead the team to the Columbus Regional in 2022 where he finished tied for 12th. In 2023, he earned an individual berth to the Bath Regional where he placed 39th.
Hunt played in regional action for the Illini in 2022 (New Haven) and 2023 (Bath) where he finished 36th and T18, respectively. He also served as the Illini's alternate competitor throughout the postseason in 2021 at the Stillwater Regional.
Sophomore Ryan Voois will start his first regional tournament. He was the team's alternate competitor as freshman throughout the 2023 postseason, including at the Bath Regional.
The Freshman duo of Max Herendeen and Ethan Wilson are getting their first taste of the postseason. Herendeen is slotted into the Illini lineup heading into play in Stanford, while Wilson has been tabbed as the team's alternate.
LIVE SCORING
Live scoring for the NCAA Stanford Regional will be available on Golfstat.com. A recap and results will be posted on FightingIllini.com following each day of competition.
UP NEXT
The low five teams and low individual not on a qualifying team from each of the six NCAA regional sites will advance to compete at the NCAA Championship on the North Course at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California, May 24-29. Illinois enters regionals in search of the program's 15th NCAA Championship berth in the last 16 tournaments dating back to 2008, and the 17th under Small's guidance since 2001.
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COMPLETE TOURNAMENT NOTES (PDF)
