WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The 11th-ranked Fighting Illini men's golf team opened play with two rounds at the Boilermaker Invitational at the Ackerman-Allen Golf Course on Saturday. The Orange and Blue carded a 36-hole team score of 563 (-5) to sit in seventh place heading into Sunday's finale, led by senior Jackson Buchanan who carded a 5-under 137, two strokes off the individual lead.
Buchanan got off to a slow start with a bogey on No. 1 and a double-bogey on No. 4 and was 3-over at the turn in Round 1. But he closed the morning with three birdies on a bogey-free back nine to card an even-par 71. As play continued into Round 2, Buchanan continued his rise up the player leaderboard. He posted seven more birdies to offset just two bogeys in Round 2 and vaulted into the top 10 with a season-best-tying 66 (-5) in the afternoon.
Behind Buchanan, sophomore Ryan Voois and freshman Trey Marrion each notched a pair of contributing scores on Day 1 to sit in a tie for 31st at even-par 142. Voois posted back-to-back rounds of 71, while Marrion opened with a team-low 69 (-2) in Round 1 – just his second collegiate round in the 60s – before posting a 73 (+1) in Round 2.
Sophomores Max Herendeen and Ethan Wilson are tied for 46th and 52nd, respectively. Herendeen bounced back from an opening 73 (+2) with an even-par 71 in Round 2. Wilson provided the Illini's fourth score in Round 1 with an even-par 71, but shot a 3-over 74 in Round 2 to move to +3 overall.
In the team race, host Purdue (-19) leads by four strokes over second-place Marquette (-15). Michigan (-12) is third, followed by Michigan State and Notre Dame in a tie for fourth at 11-under. Indiana is one spot ahead of the Illini at 10-under.
On the individual side, Illini freshman Jake Birdwell leads the field of 38 competitors who teed off at the adjacent Kampen Golf Course (Par 72 / 7,465 yards). Birdwell was the only player in the indy field to shoot under par for the day, carding an opening 71 (-1) and a 70 (-2) in Round 2 to finish 3-under, to hold a four-stroke lead with 18 holes remaining.
Round 3 is set to open with a shotgun start beginning at 9 a.m. ET/8 a.m. CT. The Illini, grouped with Toledo and Ball State, will begin the final round on Holes 7-9. Live scoring is available via Golfstat.
