Chambana Sun

The Illinois men's golf team secured a victory at the Duck Invitational held at Eugene Country Club in Oregon. The No. 21 ranked Illini achieved their third win of the season, following previous victories at the Sahalee Players Championship and the Hal Williams Collegiate.

Head coach Mike Small expressed satisfaction with the team's performance, stating, "These kinds of wins make a coach happy." He highlighted the team's resilience after a challenging start in Georgia and praised their ability to recover during the tournament.

After an initial round score of 10 over par, Illinois responded with two consecutive rounds of 6-under 278, ultimately overtaking host Oregon for a seven-stroke win. Their final team total was 850 (-2), marking them as the only team to finish under par for the week.

Small noted, "We built momentum, and the last two rounds we played really solid." He emphasized that playing from strength without leaving opportunities for competitors was key to their success.

Jackson Buchanan led the individual efforts with his third career victory. After starting with a 73 (+2) in Round 1, he improved significantly with scores of 67 (-4) in both subsequent rounds. Buchanan finished three shots ahead of Utah's Javier Barcos with a total score of 207 (-6).

"Jackson is a player that is growing - this is his third win," Small commented on Buchanan's development. He praised Buchanan's professional approach throughout the tournament.

Freshman Max Herendeen also delivered an impressive performance by finishing seventh after carding a final round score of 67. This marks Herendeen's third top-10 finish this season. Fellow freshman Ethan Wilson tied for eighth place, achieving his first top-10 finish in the Illini lineup.

Sophomore Ryan Voois and fifth-year Tyler Goecke concluded their participation with closing rounds of 72 each. Voois tied for 31st place while Goecke finished tied for 38th.

Looking ahead, Illinois will compete next at the Augusta Haskins Award Invitational in early April. The event will be hosted by Augusta University at Forest Hills Golf Club from April 6-7.

For more updates on Fighting Illini men's golf, visit FightingIllini.com or follow @IlliniMGolf on social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.