LIHU'E, Hawai'i – The Fighting Illini men's golf program, ranked No. 10 in the latest NCAA men's golf team ranking officially opens its spring schedule on Thursday at the 48th John A. Burns Intercollegiate, hosted by the University of Hawai'i on Kaua'i.
The Illini will compete in their first team stroke-play event since closing the fall slate with a victory at the Steelwood Collegiate Invitational, Oct. 26-27. It is the first of six remaining regular-season events for the Illini leading up to the postseason, which will include Illinois hosting an NCAA Regional at Atkins Golf Club in Urbana, May 12-14.
THE SETTING
The John A. Burns Intercollegiate will be contested on the Par-70, 7,098-yard Ocean Course at Hokuala. The longest continuous stretch of oceanfront golf in Hawai'i, the Ocean Course at Hokuala winds through mango and guava groves to dramatic seaside cliffs, providing an unforgettable backdrop.
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
The 54-hole tournament will be played over three days with 18 holes scheduled Thursday through Saturday. Each round will open with a shotgun start slated for 1 p.m. CT/9 a.m. HT.
THE FIELD
The tournament field features 17 programs vying for the title, including seven teams ranked in the top 50 of the latest NCAA men's golf team ranking. The No. 10 Illini will face: No. 16 Utah, No. 20 San Diego State, No. 21 BYU, No. 26 Texas A&M, No. 39 Long Beach State, and No. 41 UNLV. Grand Canyon (52), Cal (57), New Mexico (61), Santa Clara (67), Saint Mary's (70) and UTEP (87) all rank inside the top 100. Missouri (112), Washington State (118), Fresno State (121), and host Hawai'i (172) round out the field.
FIGHTING ILLINI LINEUP
No. 1: Jackson Buchanan
No. 2: Max Herendeen
No. 3: Ryan Voois
No. 4: Trey Marrion
No. 5: Jake Birdwell
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Individual: Ethan Wilson
Individual: Joseph Buttress
ILLINI AT THE JOHN A. BURNS INTERCOLLEGIATE
Illinois returns to the John A. Burns Intercollegiate, the nation's seventh-longest running collegiate men's golf tournament, for the first time since the 2019-20 season. The Illini finished fourth in the 2020 event, the team's final result that season prior to the cancelation of the remaining schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
LIVE SCORING
Live scoring for the John A. Burns Intercollegiate will be available via Clippd Scoreboard. A recap and results will be posted on FightingIllini.com following each day of play.
UP NEXT
The Illini will return to action, March 2-4, to compete in the prestigious Southern Highlands Collegiate in Las Vegas, Nev., for the fourth consecutive season. The event, hosted by UNLV, annually draws a strong field of championship-caliber programs to test themselves on a challenging desert track. Jackson Buchanan helped the Illini win the event as a sophomore in 2023.
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