Illini Men’s Golf in the Pros | June 10, 2024

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The University of Illinois men’s golf program will be well represented at the 124th U.S. Open with alums Thomas Detry and Brian Campbell joining rising senior Jackson Buchanan to give the Orange and Blue three competitors in the field at Pinehurst No. 2 when the event tees off this week in North Carolina.

In fact the trio of Illini – touting a combined seven All-America selections and three Big Ten Golfer of the Year awards (one each) – will be grouped together for Rounds 1 and 2. They tee off of No. 1 at 2:20 p.m. ET/1:20 p.m. CT on Thursday for Round 1 and start on No. 10 at 8:35 a.m. ET/7:35 a.m. CT on Friday for Round 2.

Some non-featured groups that stand out:

Gordon Sargent (a), Jake Knapp, Cam Young (bombers)

Thomas Detry, Brian Campbell, Jackson Buchanan (a) (@IlliniMGolf)

Ben Kohles, Denny McCarthy, Ben James (a) (@UVAMensGolf)

Bob MacIntyre, Nick Taylor, Mac Hughes (Canada*)

— Brentley Romine (@BrentleyGC) June 11, 2024

Detry, currently the World’s No. 55-ranked golfer, will make his third career start at the U.S. Open and was exempt from qualifying based on his top-60 OWGR ranking as of May 20. He played in his first U.S. Open at Winged Foot in 2020 where he finished T49 and the following year he also competed at Torrey Pines but missed the cut. In his most recent performance in a major this May at the PGA Championship, Detry posted a T4 finish, his best in eight major starts for his career.

Campbell, ranked No. 11 on the Korn Ferry Tour points list, finished T2 at Duke University Golf Club in Durham, N.C. on June 3 to advance through final qualifying. It will mark Campbell’s third appearance in the U.S. Open; following his Big Ten Golfer of the Year campaign as a junior at Illinois in 2014, Campbell competed in his first U.S. Open – also at Pinehurst No. 2 – but missed the cut. A year later, Campbell returned to the field and finished T27 as low amateur at Chambers Bay.

For Buchanan, the 2024 U.S. Open marks his major debut. The reigning Big Ten Golfer of the Year tied for medalist honors at his final qualifier June 3 at the Golf Club of Georgia in Alpharetta, Ga., just 28 miles from his hometown of Dacula. He is one of 16 amateurs in the 156-player field at Pinehurst, and is the first current Illini to compete in the U.S. Open since Adrien Dumont de Chassart in…