LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The Illinois men's golf team, ranked No. 12 nationally in the NCAA Division I team rankings and No. 11 in the GCAA's Bushnell/Golfweek coaches poll, returns to the course this week to face a formidable field at the 2025 Southern Highlands Collegiate. The three-day event, hosted by UNLV, will be played Sunday through Tuesday, March 2-4, at Southern Highlands Golf Club.
The Illini are coming off a tie for fifth in their most recent outing at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate in Lihu'e, Hawai'i, Feb. 13-15.
THE SETTING
The Southern Highlands Collegiate is hosted at Southern Highlands Golf Club in Las Vegas, Nev. The course, co-designed by the legendary Robert Trent Jones, Sr., and his son Robert Trent Jones, Jr., features the natural beauty of the desert, including mountainous terrain, to create sweeping elevation changes, beautiful ponds and waterfalls, deep-faced bunkers and challenging, bent grass greens. The Par-72 course spans 7,510 yards.
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
The 54-hole tournament will be a five-count-four format played over three days, with 18 holes slated for each day of competition. Tee times are set, off of Nos. 1 and 10, beginning daily at 11 a.m. CT/9 a.m. PT.
THE FIELD
The Southern Highlands Collegiate field includes 15 of the nation's top programs vying for the title, including 13 programs inside the top 50 in the latest NCAA Division I team rankings. Playing alongside the No. 12 Illini are No. 2 Auburn, No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 9 Virginia, No. 11 Florida, No. 16 Georgia Tech, No. 18 SMU, No. 22 San Diego State, No. 24 Pepperdine, No. 26 Texas A&M, No. 30 Georgia, host and No. 31-ranked UNLV, No. 50 USC, No. 65 New Mexico, and No. 105 Washington.
FIGHTING ILLINI LINEUP
No. 1: Max Herendeen
No. 2: Jackson Buchanan
No. 3: Ryan Voois
No. 4: Trey Marrion
No. 5: Ethan Wilson
-----------------------------------------------
Individual: Jake Birdwell
LIVE SCORING
Live scoring for the Southern Highlands Collegiate will be available on Clippd Scoreboard. A Recap and results will be posted on FightingIllini.com following each day of play.
ILLINI AT THE SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS INTERCOLLEGIATE
The Illini have played in the Southern Highlands Collegiate in each of the three previous seasons, highlighted by a team win in 2023. Illinois also competed in the tournament five times from 2015 through 2019. The Orange and Blue have finished in the top 10 as a team each year.
Senior Jackson Buchanan is set to tee off in the tournament for the fourth consecutive season. He finished 83rd with a 234 (+18) as a freshman in 2022, and shot a 215 (-1) to secure a tie for 24th to help the Illini to the 2023 team title. Last year, Buchanan carded a 218 (+2) to tie for 21st.
Junior Ryan Voois and sophomore Max Herendeen will each make their second start at Southern Highlands. Voois finished T34 at 220 (+4) as a sophomore last season, while Herendeen tied for 15th with an even-par 216 as a freshman.
UP NEXT
The Fighting Illini head to Southern California where they will tee off at the Pauma Valley Invitational hosted by Loyola Marymount, March 17-18. The event will be contested at Pauma Valley Country Club, located approximately 35 miles east of the site of the NCAA Championship at OMNI La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad.
FOLLOW THE #ILLINI
For more Fighting Illini men's golf news, stay tuned to FightingIllini.com and follow @IlliniMGolf on social media: X | Instagram | Facebook.
