No. 11 Illinois Hosts Elite Area at nineteenth OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational

OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. – The No. 11-ranked Fighting Illini males’s golf crew opens the 2025-26 season this weekend because the host crew for the nineteenth annual OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational at Olympia Fields Country Club, Friday-Sunday.

THE SETTING

The OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational will probably be contested on the North Course at Olympia Fields Country Club, as soon as once more offering a demanding however truthful check for a discipline that features among the nation’s finest gamers and packages. The course will function a Par 70, 7,353-yard structure.   

Over the years, the famed membership has been house to a number of premier occasions, having hosted the U.S. Amateur (2015), two U.S. Opens (1928, 2003), two PGA Championships (1925, 1961), a U.S. Senior Open (1997), plus 5 Western Opens (1920, 1927, 1933, 1968, 1971) and the BMW Championship in 2020 and 2023.

TOURNAMENT FORMAT

The 54-hole match will probably be performed over three days with 18 holes slated for every day of competitors. Tee instances for Rounds 1 and a couple of on Friday and Saturday, respectively, start at 8 a.m. CT. Sunday’s last spherical tee instances are set for 7:30 a.m. CT.

THE FIELD

The 2025 OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational discipline is made up of lots of the nation’s most profitable collegiate golf packages. Joining the ninth-ranked Illini are: No. 18 Alabama, No. 6 Arizona State, Baylor, No. 4 Florida, No. 9 Florida State, No. 13 Georgia Tech, Indiana, LMU, No. 1 Oklahoma State, Purdue, Stanford (RV), No. 3 Texas, No. 20 Texas A&M, and No. 15 Texas Tech.

• 11 of 15 groups within the discipline are ranked or receiving votes within the preseason Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches Poll launched by the GCAA on Aug. 29.
• Programs within the 2025 match discipline have mixed for 19 of 32 spots within the NCAA Championship match play finals, and 9 out of the 16 crew titles, for the reason that present format started in 2009
• 12 of 15 groups within the discipline competed within the 2025 NCAA Regionals
• 10 of the 15 groups within the discipline superior to the 2025 NCAA Championship stroke play
• The discipline contains 4 of the ultimate eight groups that made up match play on the 2025 NCAA Championship: quarterfinalists Arizona State and Texas, semifinalist Florida, and champion Oklahoma State

FIGHTING ILLINI LINEUP

No. 1: Dane Huddleston

No. 2: Max Herendeen

No. 3: Ryan Voois

No. 4: Trey Marrion

No. 5: Ethan Wilson

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Individual: Jake Birdwell

Individual: Freddie Turnell

Individual: Dujuan Snyman 

PRESEASON HONORS

Max Herendeen and Dane Huddleston every garnered preseason All-America honors main as much as the 2025-26 season. Herendeen, additionally chosen to the preseason Haskins Award watch listing, was tabbed as a primary crew honoree by Golf Channel and second crew by Golfweek, whereas Huddleston was named to Golfweek’s third crew. The duo additionally joined senior Ryan Voois on the Big Ten’s Preseason Honors listing.

ILLINI AT THE OFCC/FIGHTING ILLINI INVITATIONAL

The Orange and Blue have taken house the crew title on the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational a document 3 times (2008, 2014 and 2016). Two Illini golfers have additionally captured medalist honors within the occasion, with Zach Barlow and Dylan Meyer every tying for high honors in 2008 and 2014, respectively.

Four of the 5 members of the Illini lineup, and one of many crew’s three particular person opponents, have beforehand performed within the occasion, led by senior Ryan Voois and juniors Max Herendeen and Ethan Wilson, who will every tee off at Olympia Fields for the third time.

Voois missed the 2022 occasion as a real freshman as a result of harm, and tied for 60^th in a rain-shortened, 36-hole occasion in 2023, earlier than breaking out for a T6 (-3) with three consecutive rounds of 69 (-1) final season. Herendeen tied for 13^th in his first motion at OFCC as a member of the Illini lineup in 2023 and added one other top-20 end with a T17 efficiency in 2024. Wilson posted a T37 end as a person competitor in his collegiate debut in 2023 and completed T69 within the Orange and Blue lineup final season.

Sophomores Trey Marrion and Jake Birdwell can even compete within the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational for the second straight 12 months. Marrion shot 5-over to complete T37 as a member of the Illinois lineup, whereas Birdwell completed T60 as an indy competitor in his collegiate debut final 12 months.

Three opponents – junior Dane Huddleston, sophomore Freddie Turnell, and freshman Dujuan Snyman – will make their Illini debuts at this 12 months’s occasion. Huddleston and Turnell joined the Illini this offseason as transfers from Utah Valley and Little Rock, respectively. Snyman is a real freshman making his collegiate debut.

MORE OFCC/FIGHTING ILLINI INVITATIONAL HISTORY

10 of the 15 groups competing have captured a crew title within the earlier 18 occasions. Aside from Illinois’ three crew titles, defending champion Georgia Tech (2024 and 2019-co), Stanford (2011 and 2022), and Oklahoma State (2007 and 2018) have received a number of OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational championships. Other 2025 contributors to have beforehand received the occasion are: Arizona State (2009), Florida (2010), Alabama (2013), Florida State (2015), Texas A&M (2017), and Baylor (2019-co).

Stanford has produced a tournament-record six medalist finishes from 4 golfers: Patrick Rodgers (2011 and 2012), Cameron Wilson (2013-co), Maverick McNealy (2014-co and 2015), and Michael Thorbjornsen (2022). Oklahoma State golfers have taken house 4 particular person titles: Rickie Fowler (2007), Trent Whitekiller (2009-co), Peter Uihlein (2010) and Matthew Wolff (2018). Arizona State (Niklas Lemke, 2006; Jose Luis Ballester, 2024)  and Alabama (Robby Shelton, 2013-co; Davis Riley, 2017) are tied with Illinois with two medalists, every. Other previous medalists from packages collaborating within the 2025 occasion are: Indiana’s Alex Martin (2008-co), Texas A&M’s Cameron Champ (2016), Baylor’s Cooper Dossey (2019), and Georgia Tech’s Christo Lamprecht (2023).

LIVE SCORING

Live scoring for the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational will probably be accessible on Golfstat.com. A Recap and outcomes will probably be posted on FightingIllini.com following every day of play.

UP NEXT

The Illini stay within the Illinois, making the brief journey to Lake Forest, Illinois, to play within the Windon Memorial Classic, hosted by Northwestern at Knollwood Club, Sept. 29-30.