University of Illinois
Big Ten Championship
No. 12 Illinois Begins B1G Title Chase Friday
April 30, 2026 | Men's Golf
PREVIEW
| No. 12 Illinois at Big Ten Championship | |
|---|---|
| Tournament | 2026 Big Ten Championship |
| Date | May 1-3 |
| Location | North Plains, Ore. |
| Course | Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club - Witch Hollow Course (Par 70 / 7,015 Yards) |
| Live Scoring | Clippd Scoreboard |
| Illinois | Roster | Schedule | Season Statistics |
| Shop | Fighting Illini Store |
| Social Media | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook |
NORTH PLAINS, Ore. – The Fighting Illini men's golf team, No. 12 nationally in the NCAA Division I team rankings, tees off this week at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club for the 2026 Big Ten Men's Golf Championship.
The Orange and Blue are in search of their 14th victory in the last 17 league championships dating back to the 2008-09 season, and the program's 21st Big Ten crown overall.
THE SETTING
The Witch Hollow Course at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club is considered among the nation's best classic-style courses. Bob Cupp designed the Witch Hollow course to blend harmoniously with its natural surroundings in the shadows of the Cascade Mountains. Woven through a tapestry of fir, maple, oak and ash trees with dramatic views of the Tualatin Hills, the course's undulating fairways, wide manicured greens, numerous wetland areas and variety of ponds, lakes and streams add to the layout's mystical allure and beauty.
For the Big Ten Championship, Holes No. 4 and No. 14 have been changed from Par-5 to Par-4, so the course will play Par-70 instead of Par-72.
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
The 54-hole tournament will be played over three days, Friday-Sunday, with 18 holes slated for each day. The low four scores will count towards the team score in each round. Tee times for all three days begin at 11:30 a.m. CT/9:30 a.m. PT. Sunday's final round will be immediately followed by the awards ceremony.
THE FIELD
The field includes all 18 Big Ten men's golf programs. The Illini, No. 12 in the latest NCAA Men's Golf team rankings, are one of five top-50 ranked teams in the league, along with USC (26), defending champion UCLA (33), Purdue (42), and Northwestern (48). Washington (52), Oregon (62), Ohio State (65), Minnesota (71), Michigan State (74), Nebraska (83), Iowa (84), Rutgers (86), Michigan (87), Indiana (97), and Maryland (98) all rank inside the top 100, followed by Wisconsin (108) and Penn State (121).
FIGHTING ILLINI LINEUP
No. 1: Dane Huddleston
No. 2: Ryan Voois
No. 3: Max Herendeen
No. 4: Trey Marrion
No. 5: Freddie Turnell
Alternate: Jake Birdwell
ILLINI AT THE BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP
The 2026 Big Ten Men's Golf Championship marks the conference's 106th championship tournament dating back to 1920 and the 105th for the Fighting Illini who have competed for the league title every year except for 1929 when only seven programs played in the event. No tournament was held in 2020.
Illinois ranks second all-time with 20 conference championships and sits in the lead spot in the Big Ten record book with 30 individual medalists (top-3 finishers). Illini have also captured the individual conference championship a Big Ten-record 21 times.
Under head coach Mike Small, the Illini have won 13 of the last 16 Big Ten Championships dating back to the 2008-09 season, including a conference-record eight straight from 2015 to 2023. During the Small era, the Illini also won or shared the individual title for nine consecutive seasons between 2011 and 2019, the longest streak in Big Ten history.
Four members of the Illini roster have previous Big Ten Championship experience. Senior Ryan Voois and junior Max Herendeen have competed in each of the last two conference tournaments. Voois, who was an alternate when the Illini won in 2023, finished T26 in 2024 and T7 last year. Herendeen has two top-20 finishes, T16 as a freshman in 2024 and T19 as a sophomore last season.
Sophomores Jake Birdwell and Trey Marrion each played in the event last year at Baltimore Country Club. Marrion finished tied for 58th, while Birdwell tied for third to earn a spot on the 2025 All-Big Ten Championship Team.
Transfers Dane Huddleston and Freddie Turnell will participate in their first Big Ten Championship since joining the Fighting Illini.
AT HOME IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
Two members of the Fighting Illini roster – juniors Max Herendeen and Dane Huddleston – have deep ties to the Pacific Northwest. Herendeen hales from Bellevue, Washington, while Huddleston's hometown of Woodland, Washington, is just north of Portland across the Columbia River.
ILLINI HISTORY AT PUMPKIN RIDGE
Prior to his time as a Fighting Illini All-American, D.A. Points competed in the storied 1996 U.S. Amateur that put Pumpkin Ridge Golf Course on the map. Points, who was announced Thursday as one of the newest inductees in the University of Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame, fell to Tiger Woods in the semifinal round of match play, 3 and 2, as Woods went on to secure his unprecedented third-consecutive U.S. Amateur title.
LIVE SCORING
Live scoring for the Big Ten Championship will be available via Clippd Scoreboard. A recap and results will be posted on FightingIllini.com following each day of competition.
BIG MEN'S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP ON BTN
Big Ten Network, for the second consecutive year, will offer live coverage of the final round of play at the Big Ten Men's Golf Championship. Coverage is scheduled to begin Sunday, May 3 at 4:30 p.m. CT/2:30 p.m. PT. Rick Pizzo, Erik Ciotti, and Emma Carpenter will anchor the golf championship on BTN.
UP NEXT
Following the Big Ten Championship, the Fighting Illini will await the selection of the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship field, which will be revealed live on Golf Channel, Wednesday, May 6 at 1 p.m. CT.
NCAA Regionals are slated for May 18-20 at six sites: Athens, Georgia (University of Georgia - University of Georgia Golf Course); Bermuda Run, North Carolina ( Wake Forest University - Bermuda Run Country Club); Bryan, Texas (Texas A&M University - Traditions Club); Columbus, Ohio (Ohio State University - OSU Golf Club); Corvallis, Oregon (Oregon State University - Trysting Tree Golf Club); and Marana Arizona (University of Arizona - The Gallery Golf Club).
The NCAA National Championship is set to return for Year 3 at the North Course at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California, May 29 – June 3. Illinois enters the 2026 postseason in search of the program's 17th NCAA Championship berth in 18 years dating back to 2008.
