Chambana Sun

The Illinois men's golf team experienced a shift in their standings during the second day of the John A. Burns Intercollegiate, held at the Ocean Course at Hokuala on Kaua'i. The team moved down five spots to seventh place after posting a score of 282 (+2) on Friday, following an opening round of 280.

Ryan Voois made significant progress by improving his score by five strokes, recording a 68 (-2). This performance allowed him to climb 18 positions on the individual leaderboard. Voois is currently tied for 29th with teammate Max Herendeen, both holding a two-round total of 141 (+1).

Senior Jackson Buchanan remains a leading figure for Illinois. After sharing the individual lead with a score of 66 (-4) in Round 1, he maintained an even-par score on Friday and is now four strokes behind Utah's Sergio Jimenez, who leads at -8.

Freshmen Trey Marrion and Jake Birdwell each scored rounds of 73 (+3) in Round 2. Marrion is tied for 50th with a total of 144 (+4), while Birdwell follows with a total of 146 (+6).

Sophomore Ethan Wilson, playing as an individual competitor, surpassed Voois by one stroke in Round 2 and trails Buchanan by just one shot at -3 overall. His round of 67 marks his best performance this season. Freshman Joseph Buttress also competed individually and has accumulated a two-round total of 166 (+26).

In terms of team competition, all seven programs ranked in the top 50 nationally are among the top ten. Utah leads at -15, followed by Long Beach State six strokes behind after achieving the best round so far with -15 on Friday. UNLV (-8), Santa Clara (-7), BYU (E), and Texas A&M (+3) are positioned third through sixth ahead of Illinois. Fresno State (+3), New Mexico (+5), and San Diego State (+7) complete the top ten.

The final round will commence on Saturday with teams starting from different holes at designated times.