OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. – The 12th-ranked Illinois men's golf team closed out a fourth-place finish at the 19th OFCC / Fighting Illini Invitational on Sunday at Olympia Fields Country Club's North Course behind four top-20 finishes in the team's five-man lineup.
The effort gives the Illini several key results against a premier field to open the 2025-26 season, with head-to-head wins over six top-25 programs – No. 2 Arizona State, No. 5 Texas, No. 11 Alabama, No. 15 Florida State, No. 16 Texas A&M, and No. 18 Georgia Tech – and four others receiving votes in this week's Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches Poll.
No. 4-ranked Oklahoma State shot 834 (-6) to claim the team title, matching Illinois as the only program to win the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational three times. No. 10 Florida (-4) and No. 19 Texas Tech (-3) finished ahead of the Illini in second and third, respectively.
Junior Max Herendeen, a preseason All-American and Haskins Award Watch List honoree, paced the Orange and Blue from wire-to-wire and closed out the weekend in fifth place with a 54-hole total of 207 (-3). The Bellevue, Washington, native shot a closing 71 (+1) to secure his ninth-career top-5 finish, three shots off the pace of medalist Tim Wiedemeyer (-6) of Texas Tech.
Behind Herendeen, senior Ryan Voois, junior Dane Huddleston, and sophomore Trey Marrion all finished in the red in Round 3 to make big moves up the leaderboard.
Voois carded a 68 (-2) to jumped 14 spots on Sunday, moving into a tie for ninth at 209 (-1). Voois' Sunday round marked the best of his career at Olympia Fields and capped his 10th top-10 finish as an Illini.
Marrion was the Illini's biggest mover of the day, matching Voois' 68 to vault 16 spots up the individual leaderboard where he tied Huddleston and three others for 19th with a three-round total of 211 (+1). The second-year players' final round also marked his best at OFCC, and his three-round total of 211 was two strokes ahead of his previous career-low 54-hole total set last April at the Boilermaker Invitational.
Huddleston, a transfer from Utah Valley, impressed in his Illinois debut. He followed back-to-back rounds of 71 with a 69 (-1) on Sunday to jump 10 spots up the leaderboard in Round 3.
Junior Ethan Wilson, the fifth member of the Illini lineup, closed the weekend with a three-round total of 225 (+15) in a tie for 71st.
Three other Illini competed as individuals, including sophomore transfer Freddie Turnell and true freshman Dujuan Snyman who saw their first action as Illini. Turnell carded a 216 (+6) to finish tied for 39th, while Snyman finished with a 7-over 217 to tie or 42nd. Sophomore Jake Birdwell, the Illini's third indy competitor, carded a 223 (+13) to finish tied for 66th in the 81-player field.
UP NEXT
The Illini will remain in the Illinois, making the trip to Lake Forest, to play in the Windon Memorial Classic, hosted by Northwestern at Knollwood Club, Sept. 29-30.
