INLET BEACH, Fla. – The 12th-ranked Fighting Illini men’s golf team unofficially opened its spring schedule on Saturday, playing to a 3-3 draw in a match play exhibition vs. Florida State at Watersound Club’s Camp Creek Golf Course. The Seminoles ultimately picked up the win via tie-breaker, having captured more total holes than the Illini on the day.
The head-to-head contest serves as a tune-up as both teams prepare for the second half of the 2024-25 season, and what each hopes is another deep postseason run. Both Illinois and Florida State have advanced to match play at the NCAA Championship in three of the last four seasons. Illinois owns the most NCAA match play appearances with nine since the current format was adopted in 2008-09.
Senior Jackson Buchanan picked up the biggest win of the day for the Fighting Illini, earning a 5&4 victory over Florida State junior Jack Bigham. Junior Ryan Voois secured a 3&2 win for the Orange and Blue against Seminoles senior Michael Mays, and freshman Jake Birdwell slipped past FSU senior Patrick McCann, 1up.
Ethan Wilson came up just short, losing 1down, in a neck-and-neck battle with fellow sophomore Carson Brewer. Another sophomore battle saw Illinois’ Max Herendeen fall to Tyler Weaver, 4&3, while freshman Joseph Buttress dropped his match with senior Wilmer Edero, 5&3.
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The spring slate opens in earnest, Feb. 13-15, at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate hosted by Hawai’i at The Ocean Course at Hokuala in Lihue, Kaua’i, Hawai’i. It marks the Illini’s first trip to the islands since 2020 when the team posted a fourth-place finish in the same event.
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