University of Illinois
Fallen Oak Collegiate Invitational
No. 12 Illini Claim Share of Team Title at Fallen Oak Collegiate Invitational
October 19, 2026 | Men's Golf
SAUCIER, Miss. – The 12th-ranked Fighting Illini men's golf team carded a three-round team total of 868 (+4), finishing in a three-way tie for the team title – alongside No. 1 Arkansas and No. 46 South Carolina – at the Fallen Oak Collegiate Invitational at Fallen Oak at Beau Rivage Resort.
The Illini closed play on Monday with a 286 (-2), their best round of the tournament and the second-lowest team score in the field in Round 3.
The title, which marks the program's 98th team win under head coach Mike Small, gives the Illini head-to-head victories over several top-25 ranked opponents including No. 9 Tennessee (+5) in fourth, No. 14 Georgia (+16) in seventh, No. 4 Alabama (+21) in ninth, and No. 20 Ohio State (+22) in 10th.
Four Illini posted top-30 scores, led by senior Max Herendeen who tied with Arkansas' Lev Grinberg for runner-up at 212 (-4). The pair finished one shot behind medalist Daniel Hayes (-5) of LSU.
The runner-up finish for Herendeen is his third top-three score in four tournaments this fall. It also marks Herendeen's third consecutive top-five finish at Fallen Oak after posting a T4 in 2024 and a T2 in 2025.
Herendeen was the only competitor in the field to shoot under par in all three rounds, posting 70-71-71.
Harrison Zipfel (+5) tied for 25th in his first-career tournament in the Illini scoring lineup. The freshman from St. Louis, Mo., matched Herendeen's closing 71 to climb 16 spots up the leaderboard in Round 3.
Junior Trey Marrion (+1) and senior Dane Huddleston (+6) closed out the scoring for the Illini. Marrion climbed three spots into a tie for 11th, while Huddleston rose 11 spots into a tie for 30th over the final 18 holes.
Junior Freddie Turnell (+9) tied for 42nd but did not factor into the Illini's Round 3 tally with a closing 77. Classmate Jake Birdwell (+12), competing as an individual, tied for 57th in the 84-player field, but posted his best round of the week on Monday with a 1-over 73.
As a team, the Illini close the fall with top-six finishes in all four events after a fourth-place finish at Sahalee to open the year, a team runner-up at Olympia Fields, and sixth-place at the Fighting Irish Classic.
The Orange and Blue are scheduled to return to competition when the spring schedule officially opens, Feb. 15-16, at the Hal Williams Collegiate hosted in Mobile, Ala.
| PLACE | FALLEN OAK COLLEGIATE INVITATIONAL | RD1 | RD2 | RD3 | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Illinois | 293 | 289 | 286 | 868 (+4) |
| T2 | Max Herendeen | 70 | 71 | 71 | 212 (-4) |
| T11 | Trey Marrion | 74 | 71 | 72 | 217 (+1) |
| T25 | Harrison Zipfel | 77 | 73 | 71 | 221 (+5) |
| T30 | Dane Huddleston | 76 | 74 | 72 | 222 (+6) |
| T42 | Freddie Turnell | 73 | 75 | 77 | 225 (+9) |
| T57 | Jake Birdwell (Ind.) | 78 | 77 | 73 | 228 (+12) |
