OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. – The No. 9-ranked Fighting Illini men’s golf team, coming off a runner-up team finish to open the season at the Folds of Honor Collegiate, continues action this weekend as the host team for the 18th annual OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational at Olympia Fields Country Club, Friday-Sunday.
THE SETTING
The OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational will be contested on the North Course at Olympia Fields Country Club, once again providing a demanding but fair test for a field that includes some of the nation’s best players and programs. The course will feature a Par 70, 7,353-yard layout.
Over the years, the famed club has been home to several premier events, having hosted the U.S. Amateur (2015), two U.S. Opens (1928, 2003), two PGA Championships (1925, 1961), a U.S. Senior Open (1997), plus five Western Opens (1920, 1927, 1933, 1968, 1971) and the BMW Championship in 2020 and 2023.
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
The 54-hole tournament will be played over three days with 18 holes slated for each day of competition. Tee times for Rounds 1 and 2, on Friday and Saturday, respectively, begin at 8 a.m. CT. Sunday’s final round tee times are set for 7:30 a.m. CT.
THE FIELD
The 2024 OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational field is made up of many of the nation’s most successful collegiate golf programs:
- 14 of 15 teams are ranked or receiving votes in the preseason Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches Poll
- Programs in the 2024 tournament field have combined to account for 18 of 30 spots in the 15 NCAA Championship match play finals since the current format began in 2009
- 14 of the 15 of the programs in the field competed in the 2024 NCAA Regionals
- 11 of the 15 teams advanced to the 2024 NCAA Championship stroke play
- The field includes 4 of the 8 teams that made up match play at the 2024 NCAA Championship: quarterfinalists Illinois and North Carolina, semifinalist Georgia Tech, and finalist Florida State
FIGHTING ILLINI LINEUP
No. 1: Jackson Buchanan
No. 2: Max Herendeen
No. 3: Trey Marrion
No. 4: Ethan Wilson
No. 5: Ryan Voois
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Individual: Jake Birdwell
Individual: Joseph Buttress
ILLINI AT THE OFCC/FIGHTING ILLINI INVITATIONAL
The Orange and Blue have taken home the team title at the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational a record three times (2008, 2014 and 2016). Two…
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