PAUMA VALLEY, Calif. – Senior Jackson Buchanan and junior Ryan Voois tied for seventh and 13th, respectively, to help the No. 13-ranked Fighting Illini close out a fourth-place team finish against a loaded field at the Pauma Valley Invitational at Pauma Valley Country Club on Tuesday.
Behind the upperclassman duo, Illinois carded a 54-hole team score of 842 (-10), capped by the team's lowest round of the event – a 6-under 278 – in the finale. The performance helped the Fighting Illini record head-to-head victories over nine other top-35 ranked programs.
Voois, the leader in the clubhouse when play was halted Monday night, remained tied for first when Round 3 teed off. His 3-over 74, however, did not factor into the Illini's final-round score, but was enough to secure his second-best finish of the season at 210 (-3).
The other four members of the Illini lineup all recorded par or better in Round 3, led by Buchanan, who matched his opening 68 with another 3-under performance in the finale. Buchanan's final score of 208 (-5) was enough for the reigning Big Ten Golfer of the Year to record his sixth top-10 finish in eight stroke-play events on the season.
Sophomore Max Herendeen, freshman Trey Marrion, and sophomore Ethan Wilson each posted their best scores in Round 3. Herendeen shot a 2-under 69 and Marrion carded a 70 (-1) to finish tied for 27th with a three-round total of 214 (+1). The closing efforts helped Herendeen move up 13 spots over the final 18 holes, while Marrion climbed seven. Wilson, however, was the team's biggest mover of the day, posting a closing 71 to ascend 16 spots at into a tie for 50th at 220 (+7).
Freshman Jake Birdwell, competing as an individual, finished tied for 63rd with a final score of 222 (+9).
No. 7 LSU (-27) won the team title by 10 strokes over No. 4 Texas (-17), and Fifth-ranked Oklahoma State narrowly edged Illinois by a single stroke, while No. 30 Tennessee rounded out the top five shots off the Illini's pace.
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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