Illinois head coach Mike Small bolstered the class of 2026 Wednesday by signing junior golfers Le Khanh Hung and Harrison Zipfel. Both have already had success in their young golfing careers.
“Hung is an impressive young athlete with skill and potential that are unique to a person, his age,” Small said in a press release. “With Hung’s elite skill and champion mindset, his learning curve will be very steep here at Illinois, and we can’t wait to see what he can accomplish in college golf.”
Hung’s achievements do not disappoint. Hung currently stands at No. 172 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. Alongside this, he has countless performances that continuously surpass one another. Hung just recently golfed in the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship and tied for 5th place. Three weeks prior, he was a medalist honor for the Campeonato Nacional Copa Juan Sebastián Muñoz.
Hung helped Vietnam win the Nomura Cup for the Asia-Pacific Amateur Golf Team Championship last year. This was the nation’s first time securing such a win.
In 2023, Hung was a gold medalist for the Southeast Asia Games and won the individual title at the Lexus Challenge. In 2022, he was awarded the national title at the Vietnam Amateur Matchplay Championship.
Get The Daily Illini in your inbox!
He is also a member of the International Team at the Junior Presidents Cup in Quebec, Canada.
Zipfel also has an impressive junior career. He ranks No. 35 in the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) and No. 18 in the class of 2026. Zipfel is also a four-time AJGA winner.
Zipfel also earned two high-placement finishes. He has tied for third at the Renewal by Andersen Junior Open, hosted by former Illini D.A. Points, and placed fourth at the Roper Honda AJGA Junior Championship. He was also recognized as a 2025 Rolex Scholastic Junior All-American.
During his high school career, he finished as a four-time letterwinner for the Jr. Billikens, as well as leading his school’s golf team to the Missouri Class 5A State Championship during 2024-25, in which the team hadn’t played in since 1952. Zipfel also went into his last year holding the All-Metro St. Louis Boys Golfer of the Year and is a three-time All-State and All-Metro St. Louis selection.
“Harrison possesses the physical attributes that are needed to play at this level, and his total package as a competitor will help him adapt to high-level college golf very successfully,” Small said about Zipfel in a press release
Both golfers will join the Illini as freshmen for the 2026-27 season.
