SAMMAMISH, Wash – The No 9-ranked Fighting Illini men’s golf team opened the 2023-24 schedule in solid fashion on Saturday, posting a 36-hole team score of 9-under 567 to build a 10-stroke lead heading into Sunday’s final round at the Sahalee Players Championship at Sahalee Country Club.
All five members of the Fighting Illini scoring lineup – plus individual competitor Timmy Crawford – carded top-25 scores on Day 1 of the event which features a premier field that includes 11 teams ranked or receiving votes in the first GCAA Coaches Top-25 Poll of the season.
True freshman Max Herendeen, who hails from nearby Bellevue, Wash., sits alone atop the leaderboard with the 36-hole lead in his collegiate debut for the Orange and Blue. Herendeen opened his day with a 2-over 74 in Round 1 before vaulting up the leaderboard with a 10-under 64 in Round 2. He sits at 138 (-6) with a one stroke lead over Arizona State sophomore Preston Summerhays, with a PGA Tour sponsor’s exemption into this weekend’s Fortinet Championship on the line for the SPC medalist.
Junior Jackson Buchanan, the runner-up for the individual title at the 2023 NCAA Championship at Grayhawk last May, picked up right where he left off. The Dacula, Ga., native opened his season with a 66 (-6) in Round 1 and is in a four-way tie for seventh, along with Crawford, at even-par 144 with 18 holes to play.
Sophomore Ryan Voois is just one shot behind Buchanan and Crawford in a tie for 11th after shooting rounds of 76 and 69, while senior Piercen Hunt (75-72) and fifth-year senior Tyler Goeke (71-76), sit at 3-over in a tie for 25th in the 72-player field.
As a team, the Illini are 10 strokes ahead of No. 17 Texas Tech with 18 holes remaining. No. 16 Oklahoma State, No. 19 Arizona, and No. 11 Texas all sit at 3-over, 12 shots off Illinois’ pace, to round out the top 5 of the team standings.
Sunday’s final round is scheduled to begin at 9:45 a.m. CT/7:45 a.m. PT. The Illini will be paired with Texas Tech and Oklahoma State and will tee off on No. 1 beginning at 10:45 a.m. CT/8:45 a.m. PT. Live scoring is available via GolfGenius.
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