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.
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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.
