Illini 10th Through 36 Holes at OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational

OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. – The ninth-ranked Fighting Illini men’s golf team posted its second straight team round of 5-over 285 but slid into 10^th place despite another solid effort by Max Herendeen on Saturday at Olympia Fields Country Club.

Herendeen followed his opening 70 with a 1-under 69 in Round 2 and paces the Orange and Blue in a tie for 13^th. The true freshman fought through a 3-over start through his first four holes and shot 4-under over the final 14 holes of the day, including an eagle on the Par-5 15^th to move up two spots heading into Sunday’s final round.

Jackson Buchanan and Tyler Goecke shot 71 (+1) and 72 (+2), respectively, in their second rounds, while Ryan Voois closed out the Day 2 scoring for the Illini with a 73 (+3). Goecke is tied for 30^th at 3-over, two strokes ahead of Buchanan and Timmy Crawford who are tied for 44^th. Voois is tied for 60^th with a two-round tally of 147 (+7).

Ethan Wilson leads the way for three Illini competing as individuals and is tied for 37^th at 4-over 144 after posting his second straight round of 72 to open his collegiate career. Jerry Ji is tie with Goecke and Crawford for 44^th, and Piercen Hunt three shots behind that group in a tie for 68^th.

The Illini are 10-over at 570. No. 1-ranked North Carolina jumped two spots into lead at 10-under with a tournament-record team round of 11-under 269 on Saturday. No. 11 Texas is 4-under in second, followed by No. 4 Georgia Tech (-3), No. 2 Arizona State (E), and No. 13 Alabama (+1) to round out the top five.

Georgia Tech’s Christo Lamprecht holds the 36-hole individual lead at 9-under 131, also setting the tournament record for an individual through two rounds.

Round 3 is set for Sunday morning with the start shifting to an 8 a.m. CT shotgun start due to forecasted weather overnight. The Illini will tee off on Holes 11-14 paired with No 15 Pepperdine and Big Ten foe Purdue. Live scoring is available throughout the tournament on Golfstat.com.

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