The Hal Williams Collegiate: Illinois wins by three shots to go back-to-back

February 13, 2024 | by Amit Pandey of AmateurGolf.com

Illinois Men's Golf team (Illinois Athletics photo)

Jay Mendell of LSU wins his first career individual title by a narrow margin of one shot

The Illinois men’s golf team, ranked 20th in the country, shot 25-under 827 to successfully defend their title and kick off the spring season with a statement victory for the second consecutive year at the Hal Williams Collegiate. Their rounds of 278-274-275 secured a three-shot win at the Magnolia Grove Crossings Course in Mobile, Ala.

LSU secured second place with a score of 22-under 830, posting rounds of 282-276-272. VCU had a strong start, opening with a team total of 273, but ultimately slipped behind, finishing third with rounds of 284-279 and a total score of 16-under.

Illinois started the spring season the same way they started the dal season, as they won the Sahalee Players Championship last September.

In the individual competition, LSU freshman Jay Mendell secured his first career individual title by a single shot, firing rounds of 67-68-68 for a total score of 10-under par. His teammate, Connor Gaunt, delivered strong performances with rounds of 72-67-65, finishing as the runner-up at 9-under.

Mendell is currently ranked No. 259 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com U.S. Rankings.

All five members of the Illini team finished inside the top 20, led by sophomore Ryan Voois, who carded rounds of 72-67-67 for a T4 finish at 7-under. Following closely was junior Jackson Buchanan, securing the 8th position at 6-under, fifth-year senior Timmy Crawford at T10 with a score of 6-under, fifth-year senior Ji Jerry, and freshman Max Herendeen, both finishing T17 at 2-under.

Illinois led the statistics in par-4s with an average of 3.95 and tied for first place for the most birdies with LSU at 56. Additionally, LSU freshman Herendeen claimed the top spot on par-3s with a scoring average of 3.25, while sophomore Voois secured the second position on par-5s with a scoring average of 4.22.

Results: Mobile Bay Intercollegiate

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	Jay Mendell	Lafayette, LA	400	67-68-68=203
2	Connor Gaunt	Cabot, AR	300	72-67-65=204
3	Piercen Hunt	Hartland, WI	200	68-65-72=205
T4	Hugo Thyr	, Sweden	200	67-69-70=206
T4	Esteban Vazquez	, Spain	200	72-68-66=206