PAUMA VALLEY, Calif. – The Illinois men's golf team, ranked No. 13 nationally in the NCAA Division I team rankings and No. 11 in the GCAA's Bushnell/Golfweek coaches poll, travels to Southern California this week to compete against an elite field at the second annual Pauma Valley Invitational.
The two-day event, hosted by Loyola Marymount, will be played Monday and Tuesday, March 17-18, 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.
THE SETTING
The Pauma Valley Invitational is hosted at Pauma Valley Country Club in Pauma Valley, Calif., northeast of San Diego, Calif., and approximately 120 miles southeast of LMU's campus in Los Angeles. The course is Robert Trent Jones, Sr.'s first designed in California and features a classic layout with intricate greens surrounded by the beautiful scenery of Pauma Valley. The course Par 71, 7,311-yard course has been listed as a top 100 club in the U.S. and a top 10 club in California by Golf Digest.
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
The 54-hole tournament will be a five-count-four format played over two days. Monday will include 36 holes of action with tee times of Holes 1 and 10 beginning at 9:30 a.m. CT/7:30 a.m. PT. The final round will be played Tuesday.
THE FIELD
The Pauma Valley Invitational field includes 15 of the nation's top programs vying for the title, with 14 team's ranked inside the top 60 of the latest NCAA Division I team rankings. The field is highlighted by six of the nation's top seven teams and nine of the top 15. Playing alongside the No. 13 Illini are No. 2 Arizona State, No. 3 Ole Miss, No. 4 Texas, No. 5 Oklahoma State, No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 7 LSU, No. 15 San Diego State, No. 21 Georgia Tech, No. 26 Texas Tech, No. 28 SMU, No. 30 Tennessee, No. 33 San Diego, host and No. 57-ranked LMU, and No. 112 San Francisco.
FIGHTING ILLINI LINEUP
No. 1: Ryan Voois
No. 2: Max Herendeen
No. 3: Jackson Buchanan
No. 4: Ethan Wilson
No. 5: Trey Marrion
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Individual: Jake Birdwell
LIVE SCORING
Live scoring for the Pauma Valley Invitational 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 PAUMA VALLEY INVITATIONAL
This is the first year that Illinois will compete in the Pauma Valley Invitational. The event began in 2024.
UP NEXT
The Fighting Illini return to the course, March 31-April 1, at the Memphis Intercollegiate, hosted by the Memphis Tigers at Colonial Country Club in Cordova, Tenn.
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