GRAND HAVEN, Mich. – The ninth-ranked Fighting Illini men's golf team opened the 2024-25 season with a runner-up finish at the Folds of Honor Collegiate at American Dunes Golf Club.
The Illini carded a 54-hole team score of 847 (-5) behind a three top-10 individual finishes from senior Jackson Buchanan, sophomore Max Herendeen, and true freshman Trey Marrion, who made his collegiate debut.
The Orange and Blue finished the week seven shots behind 16th-ranked Alabama (-12), while holding off No. 8 Texas (+3) in third, co-host Michigan State (+9) in fourth, and defending tournament champion Notre Dame (+11) in fifth. The performance also gave the Illini early head-to-head wins over several other top programs, including No. 3 Florida State, No. 17 Arkansas, and No. 22 Ohio State.
Buchanan led the way for Illinois, closing his week with a 5-under 66 in Wednesday's final round to move up two spots to third place in the 75-player field. Buchanan opened the week with back-to-back rounds of 1-under 71 and was even-par through eight holes to open Round 3 before a strong finish that included birdies on five of his final 10 holes. He finished two shots behind medalist Dominic Clemons of Alabama. It marked the 13th top-five finish of Buchanan's career and his second at the Folds of Honor after also finishing third to help the Illini win the inaugural event in 2022.
Behind Buchanan, Herendeen placed ninth with an even-par 213 for the seventh top-10 finish in his first 14-career stroke play events as an Illini. Marrion, closed his debut one shot behind Herendeen in a tie for 10th at 214 (+1).
Sophomore Ethan Wilson finished T19 at 218 (+5), his fourth-career top-20 finish. Junior Ryan Voois finished one shot behind Wilson in a tie for 23rd at 219 (+6), capped by an even-par 71 in Round 3 that saw him climb 10 spots up the leaderboard for the 10th top-25 finish of his career.
UP NEXT
Illinois hosts another of the season's most prestigious collegiate events, welcoming 14 peers for the 18th annual OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational, Sept. 20-22, at famed Olympia Fields Country Club. 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.
Thirteen of 15 programs in the field are ranked or received votes in the preseason Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches Poll. In addition to the No. 9 Illini, the field features Arizona State (2), Florida State (3), North Carolina (5), Texas (8), Florida (10), Georgia Tech (11), Texas Tech (15), Alabama (16), Texas A&M (19), Oklahoma State (20), Stanford (23), and Northwestern (RV), plus Baylor and Michigan.
Overall, 14 of the 15 programs in the field competed in the 2024 NCAA Regionals last May, including 11 that advanced to stroke play at the NCAA Championship and four of the eight squads that closed the season in match play vying for the championship trophy at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa.
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