URBANA, Ill. – The No. 18 Fighting Illini men’s golf team sits atop the team leaderboard after 36 holes of action at the Fighting Illini Spring Collegiate behind co-leaders Ryan Voois and Max Herendeen. The Orange and Blue head into Sunday’s final round at Atkins Golf Club at the University of Illinois with a 14-stroke lead and are looking to close out the regular season with a strong performance heading into the postseason.
Voois was the catalyst to a strong start for the Illini in Saturday’s opening round. The sophomore was bogey free in Round 1 and carded a personal-best and tournament-record score of 64 (-7) to stake to an early lead despite windy conditions that persisted throughout the day. Voois’ 64 was one of only four rounds in the 60s on the day and was five strokes better than any other golfer’s individual score through the first two rounds. However, the Ladera Ranch, Calif., native slipped back to pack during Round 2, posting a 76 (+5) to sit at 2-under with 18 holes to play.
That opened the door for Herendeen, who was the only competitor on Day 1 to shoot back-to-back scores at par or better. The freshman from Bellevue, Wash., opened with a 2-under 69 in Round 1 and sat five strokes off Voois’ pace before closing his day with an even-par 71 in Round 2 to match his teammate for the 36-hole lead.
Junior Jackson Buchanan is tied for sixth, five strokes behind Voois and Herendeen in a three-way tie for sixth that also includes Illinois fifth-year senior Timmy Crawford who is playing as an individual competitor. Buchanan and Crawford each carded 3-over 74s in Round 1 before shooting even-par 71 in Round 2. Two other Illini upper classmen competing as individuals – fifth-year senior Jerry Ji and senior Piercen Hunt – posted top-10 scores of 146 (+4) on Day 1.
Freshman Ethan Wilson, who is playing in the Illini lineup for the third straight tournament and the fourth time overall this season, rounded out the scoring for Illinois. He carded a 74 and a 73 in Rounds 1 and 2, respectively, to sit in a tie for 13th at 147 (+5), while fifth-year senior Tyler Goecke is tied for 62nd at 160 (+18).
As a team, the Illini posted two of the…
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