OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. – The No. 9-ranked Fighting Illini men's golf team, coming off a runner-up team finish to open the season at the Folds of Honor Collegiate, continues action this weekend as the host team for the 18th annual OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational at Olympia Fields Country Club, Friday-Sunday.
THE SETTING
The OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational will be contested on the North Course at Olympia Fields Country Club, once again providing a demanding but fair test for a field that includes some of the nation's best players and programs. The course will feature a Par 70, 7,353-yard layout.
Over the years, the famed club has been home to several premier events, having hosted the U.S. Amateur (2015), two U.S. Opens (1928, 2003), two PGA Championships (1925, 1961), a U.S. Senior Open (1997), plus five Western Opens (1920, 1927, 1933, 1968, 1971) and the BMW Championship in 2020 and 2023.
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
The 54-hole tournament will be played over three days with 18 holes slated for each day of competition. Tee times for Rounds 1 and 2, on Friday and Saturday, respectively, begin at 8 a.m. CT. Sunday's final round tee times are set for 7:30 a.m. CT.
THE FIELD
The 2024 OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational field is made up of many of the nation's most successful collegiate golf programs. Joining the ninth-ranked Illini are: Alabama (16), Arizona State (2), Baylor (RV), Florida (10), Florida State (3), Georgia Tech (11), Michigan, North Carolina (5), Northwestern (RV), Oklahoma State (20), Stanford (23), Texas (8), Texas A&M (19), and Texas Tech (15)
- 14 of 15 teams are ranked or receiving votes in the preseason Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches Poll
- Programs in the 2024 tournament field have combined to account for 18 of 30 spots in the 15 NCAA Championship match play finals since the current format began in 2009
- 14 of the 15 of the programs in the field competed in the 2024 NCAA Regionals
- 11 of the 15 teams advanced to the 2024 NCAA Championship stroke play
- The field includes 4 of the 8 teams that made up match play at the 2024 NCAA Championship: quarterfinalists Illinois and North Carolina, semifinalist Georgia Tech, and finalist Florida State
FIGHTING ILLINI LINEUP
No. 1: Jackson Buchanan
No. 2: Max Herendeen
No. 3: Trey Marrion
No. 4: Ethan Wilson
No. 5: Ryan Voois
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Individual: Jake Birdwell
Individual: Joseph Buttress
ILLINI AT THE OFCC/FIGHTING ILLINI INVITATIONAL
The Orange and Blue have taken home the team title at the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational a record three times (2008, 2014 and 2016). Two Illini golfers have also captured medalist honors in the event, with Zach Barlow and Dylan Meyer each tying for top honors in 2008 and 2014, respectively.
Four of the five members of the Illini lineup have previously played in the event, led by senior Jackson Buchanan who is making playing in his fourth. Buchanan tied for 73rd in the event as an individual competitor as a freshman in 2021, followed by a T50 finish to open his sophomore campaign, and a T44 in the weather-shortened tournament last season.
Junior Ryan Voois and sophomores Max Herendeen and Ethan Wilson will all make their second start at Olympia Fields. Voois missed the 2022 event as a true freshman due to injury, and tied for 60th last season. Herendeen tied for 13th in his first action at OFCC as a member of the Illini lineup, while Wilson posted a T37 finish as an individual competitor in his collegiate debut last year.
Freshman Trey Marrion, coming off of top-10 finish in his first collegiate event at the Folds of Honor Collegiate, will again be in the Illini's five-man scoring lineup. Classmates Jake Birdwell and Joseph Buttress are slated to make their Illini debuts as individual competitors.
MORE OFCC/FIGHTING ILLINI INVITATIONAL HISTORY
Eleven of the 14 teams competing have captured a team title in the previous 17 events. Aside from Illinois' three team titles, defending champion North Carolina (2023 and 2021), Stanford (2011 and 2022), and Oklahoma State (2007 and 2018) have won multiple OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational championships. Other 2024 participants to have previously won the event are: Arizona State (2009), Florida (2010), Alabama (2013), Florida State (2015), Texas A&M (2017), and Baylor and Georgia Tech (2019 co-champions).
Stanford has produced a tournament-record six medalist finishes from four golfers: Patrick Rodgers (2011 and 2012), Cameron Wilson (2013), Maverick McNealy (2014 and 2015), and Michael Thorbjornsen (2022). Oklahoma State golfers have taken home four individual titles: Rickie Fowler (2007), Trent Whitekiller (2009), Peter Uihlein (2010) and Matthew Wolff (2018). Alabama is tied with Illinois with two medalists: Robby Shelton (2013) and Davis Riley (2017). Other medalists from programs participating in the 2023 event are: Arizona State's Niklas Lemke (2006), Texas A&M's Cameron Champ (2016), Baylor's Cooper Dossey (2019), North Carolina's Austin Greaser (2021), and Georgia Tech's Christo Lamprecht (2023).
LIVE SCORING
Live scoring for the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational will be available on Golfstat.com. A Recap and results will be posted on FightingIllini.com following each day of play.
UP NEXT
The Illini remain in the Illinois, making the short trip to Lake Forest, Illinois, to play in the Windon Memorial Classic, hosted by Northwestern at Conway Farms Golf Club, Sept. 29-30.
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