Goecke Leads Illini to Strong Start at Southern Highlands Collegiate

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Illinois men’s golf fifth-year senior Tyler Goecke turned in his best round as an Illini, carding a 5-under 67 to sit in a tie second after Round 1 of the prestigious Southern Highlands Collegiate on Sunday at Southern Highlands Golf Club.

Goecke was one of three Illini to post top-10 scores on Day 1 of the three-day event. Sophomore Ryan Voois and freshman Max Herendeen each tallied rounds of 3-under 69 to share seventh place, and the trio combined to lead the Orange and Blue to the day’s second-lowest team score, an 8-under 280, against one of collegiate golf’s premier fields.

Illinois, ranked No. 16 in the latest GCAA Coaches poll, is also rated No. 20 nationally in the NCAA Division I team rankings and is one of 13 programs in the 15-team field to come into the tournament inside the top 50 in the NCAA metric.

With 36 holes remaining – 18 each on Monday and Tuesday – the Illini are two shots off the pace of defending national champion and 16^th-ranked Florida (-10). Illinois is two strokes ahead of a three-way tie for third between No. 30 Texas A&M, No. 35 San Diego State, and No. 70 Pepperdine, while No. 1-ranked North Carolina is three shots behind the Illini in sixth.

Goecke was bogey-free during his round and capitalized on a stretch of four consecutive birdies on Holes 7-10, before adding his fifth of the day on the par-4 14^th hole, to head into the clubhouse tied for second – along with Florida’s Ian Gilligan – one shot behind Missouri’s Jack Lundin (-6).

Voois’ day was highlighted by the first hole-in-one of his collegiate career on the par-3 second hole, which quickly moved him to 2-under early in the round. He then overcame bogeys on Nos. 6 and 10, with back-to-back birdies on 8 and 9, and added another birdie on 13 to finish at 3-under.

Like Voois, Herendeen got off to a strong start with a birdie on No. 3. He was even-par at the turn, before an eagle on the par-5 13^th, followed shortly by another birdie on No. 16, catapulted him up the leaderboard.

Junior Jackson Buchanan rounded out the scoring for the Illini in Round 1 with a 3-over 75. He posted bogeys on three of his first four holes, but…