Following a two-week absence, No. 18 Illinois men’s golf wrapped up its fall schedule in Pebble Beach, California, at the Cypress Point Classic, finishing seventh in the eight-team field.
The Ryder Cup-style tournament saw an eight-team field of some of the best programs in the country. Each team received a ranking one through eight before the tournament began. The field included the likes of No. 1 Auburn, No. 8 Pepperdine, No. 2 Arizona State, No. 7 Stanford, No. 3 Tennessee, No. 6 Illinois, No. 4 Georgia Tech and No. 5 Texas.
Illinois, despite putting up a strong fight, finished nearly dead last in the eight-team field. Play began Monday morning, with round one being a foursome format and round two being a four-ball. The sixth-seeded Illini opened with a narrow loss, 2-1, to the Volunteers in foursomes matches before finishing in a tie (1-1-1) against the Stanford Cardinals in round two’s four-ball format.
The Illini’s top pairing of junior Jackson Buchanan and freshman Ethan Wilson pulled out a win in round one over the Volunteers before losing in their matchup with Stanford in round two. Freshman Max Herendeen and sophomore Ryan Voois also went 1-1 on the day but picked up their win versus Stanford in a massive 2-up win against the Cardinals. Fifth-year senior Timmy Crawford and senior Piercen Hunt struggled, losing against Tennessee and halving with Stanford.
Voois continued his brilliance from the Flyer Invitational, winning a massive 2-up vs Stanford and pulling out a win in his individual matchup, helping secure seventh place for Illinois. Voois and Herendeen controlled the back-nine versus Stanford, taking a 1-up lead on the par-3 11th hole and winning the 18th hole to secure their 2-up victory.
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Looking to make a final-round Tuesday push, Illinois needed everyone’s best rounds of golf to finish its fall schedule. It’s safe to say the Illini got the memo, as they took a commanding 5-1 victory over Georgia Tech in dominating fashion. Picture-perfect rounds from Hunt, Crawford, Voois, Herendeen and Wilson helped propel the Illini over the Yellow Jackets.
Taking on one of the hardest courses in the nation, Illinois stayed calm and composed throughout the three rounds, playing great golf on Tuesday. Despite the rough finish in the standings, there is a lot to be proud of from Illinois this week and from its fall schedule as a whole.
The Illini return to competition on Jan. 27 in the annual Tinervin Cup at Coral Creek Golf Club in Placida, Florida. The event will once again match the current Illini against a team of Orange and Blue alumni as a warmup for the beginning of the spring season, which officially opens Feb. 12-13 at the Hal Williams Collegiate in Mobile, Alabama.
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