University of Illinois
Fighting Irish Classic
Herendeen Leads, Illini Second After Day 1 of Fighting Irish Classic
October 4, 2026 | Men's Golf
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Senior Max Herendeen posted a career performance Sunday, staking to the 36-hole lead and lifting the No. 4 Illinois men's golf team into second place with 18 holes to play at the Fighting Irish Classic at Warren Golf Course.
Herendeen, fresh off his fifth-career tournament victory in the Illini's last outing at the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational, holds the 36-hole lead in the medalist race at 5-under. After an opening 72 (+2), the Bellevue, Washington, native tied his career-low score with a 7-under 63 in Round 2. Herendeen (-5) holds a slim one-stroke edge over three competitors - Michigan State's McCoy Biagioli, Cal's Trevor Cox, and Texas A&M Wheaton Ennis - in a tie for second.
As a team, the Illini roared back from a slow start to their day. The Orange and Blue improved 10 strokes from Round 1 (+6) to Round 2 (-4), climbing six spots up the leaderboard in the afternoon and into a three-way tie for second in the team race. Illinois (+2) is tied with host and 16th-ranked Notre Dame, and No. 22 Texas A&M, two strokes off the pace set by Cal (E). Georgia Southern (+5) rounds out the top five in the team standings with 18 holes to play.
Herendeen is tied for the tournament lead with 10 birdies, eight of which came during Round 2 as he climbed 32 spots up the individual leaderboard. Following his lone bogey of the afternoon on No. 10, he closed out his day with an impressive run of five birdies over his final eight holes.
Juniors Trey Marrion and Freddie Turnell each posted a pair of counting scores for the Illini on Sunday, and the duo sits in a tie for 28th at 143 (+3). Marrion carded rounds of 70 and 73, while Turnell followed his opening 74 with a 1-under 69 in Round 2.
Junior Jake Birdwell (+4) is tied for 40th after rounds of 70 and 74, while senior Dane Huddleston (+6) is tied for 47th after carding scores of 75 and 71.
Monday's final round is set to begin with tee times starting at 8 a.m. ET/7 a.m. CT. Illinois, playing with Notre Dame and Cal, will be among the final groups to tee off on Hole 1, starting at 9:30 a.m. ET/8:30 a.m. CT. Live scoring is available via Clippd Scoreboard.
| PLACE | FIGHTING IRISH CLASSIC | RD1 | RD2 | RD3 | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T2 | Illinois | 286 | 276 | 562 (+2) | |
| 1 | Max Herendeen | 72 | 63 | 135 (-5) | |
| T28 | Freddie Turnell | 74 | 69 | 143 (+3) | |
| T28 | Trey Marrion | 70 | 73 | 143 (+3) | |
| T40 | Jake Birdwell | 70 | 74 | 144 (+4) | |
| T47 | Dane Huddleston | 75 | 71 | 146 (+6) |
