EUGENE, Ore. – The Illinois men's golf team, ranked No. 9 in the NCAA Division I team rankings and No. 8 nationally in the GCAA's Bushnell/Golfweek coaches poll, returns to action this week at the 36th Annual Duck Invitational, Monday at Tuesday.
The event marks the teams return to the Pacific Northwest for the first time since winning the team and individual titles in the same event in 2024. The Orange and Blue will be back in Oregon in just less than six weeks for the 2026 Big Ten Championship, which will be contested at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in North Plains, Ore., just outside of Portland, May 1-3.
THE SETTING
The Duck Invitational is hosted by Big Ten foe Oregon at Eugene Country Club, located just two miles north of the UO campus across the Willamette River. The course, with its scenic and natural setting among tall firs has developed a reputation as one of the finest golf courses on the Pacific Coast. The course will be par-71 at 6,997 yards.
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
The 54-hole tournament will be a five-count-four format played over two days, with 36 holes set for Monday, followed by Tuesday's final round. Play is slated to begin each day with a shotgun start at 10:30 a.m. CT/8:30 a.m. PT.
THE FIELD
The Duck Invitational field includes 15 programs vying for the team title. The team competition is highlighted by 10 programs ranked inside the top 100 of the latest NCAA Division I team rankings. Playing alongside the No. 9 Illini are No. 48 Cincinnati, No. 58 Saint Mary's, No. 62 Oregon State, host and 63rd-ranked Oregon, No. 71 Michigan State, No. 77 UTEP, No. 84 San José State, No. 88 Iowa, and No. 92 Grand Canyon. Boise State (120), Gonzaga (138), Idaho (147), Cal State Fullerton (226) and NCAA DII Hawaii Hilo round out the field.
FIGHTING ILLINI LINEUP
No. 1: Ethan Wilson
No. 2: Dane Huddleston
No. 3: Freddie Turnell
No. 4: Ryan Voois
No. 5: Trey Marrion
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Individual: Max Herendeen
Individual: Jake Birdwell
Individual: Dujuan Snyman
LIVE SCORING
Live scoring for the Duck Invitational will be available on Clippd Scoreboard. A Recap and results will be posted on FightingIllini.com following each day of play.
ILLINI AT THE DUCK INVITATIONAL
The 2026 Duck Invitational marks the second time that the Fighting Illini will compete in the event, now in its 36th playing. In 2024, the Fighting Illini secured the team title behind a medalist performance from then-junior Jackson Buchanan.
Ethan Wilson and Ryan Voois will be in the Illini lineup for the second time in the event. In 2024 Wilson finished T8 with a 54-hole total of 214 (+1). Voois tied for 31st at 219 (+6).
Last year, as a freshman at UALR, Freddie Turnell tied for 39th, carding a 5-over 218, helping the Trojans to a fourth-place team finish.
Max Herendeen finished seventh in the 2024 event, and will tee off this week as an individual competitor.
ILLINOIS HISTORY AT EUGENE COUNTRY CLUB
In addition to the Illini's 2024 win at The Duck Invitational, 10 years ago the Orange and Blue closed out one of the most successful seasons in program history at Eugene Country Club.
On the heels of Big Ten and NCAA Regional titles, head coach Mike Small led the lineup of Charlie Danielson, Thomas Detry, Nick Hardy, Edoardo Lipparelli, and Dylan Meyer to a T3rd finish at the 2026 NCAA Championship, hosted at Eugene Country Club.
It marked the fourth of five straight match play appearances for the Illini between 2011 and 2017, and the second of three consecutive semifinalist finishes for the Orange and Blue. The performance remains tied for the second-best NCAA Championship finish in program history behind the program's 2013 national runner-up at the Capital City Club's Crabapple Course in Atlanta, Ga.
UP NEXT
The Illini return to action in early April, traveling to Augusta, Ga., for the Augusta Haskins Award Invitational. The event is hosted by Augusta University at Forest Hills Golf Club – just minutes from Augusta National Golf Club – and takes place April 4-5, concluding on the eve of Masters week.
