Chambana Sun

The Illinois men's golf team, ranked 13th nationally, achieved a third-place finish at the Augusta Haskins Award Invitational at Forest Hills Golf Club. Leader of the Illini, sophomore Max Herendeen, completed the tournament with a noteworthy 12-under 204 but narrowly missed claiming medalist honors after losing in a playoff.

"We had a lot of positives this week," stated Mike Small, head coach. "When you're going against two of the top five teams in the country, you've got to have everyone on point. We just didn't have enough firepower today, but I think it was positive and I think we're going to learn from this in a lot of different ways."

The team entered the final round ahead by one stroke, competing against No. 1 Texas, No. 5 Oklahoma State, and No. 9 North Carolina but ultimately concluded the weekend with a 4-under 284, finishing the event with a 15-under 849. Texas and Oklahoma State tied for the team title, managing to surpass the Illini with scores of 277 (-11) and 278 (-10), respectively, to end up five shots in front.

Despite the setback, the Illini secured head-to-head victories over 12 other programs, including notable victories against the ninth-ranked Tar Heels and three additional top-40 ranked teams. Notre Dame, ranked 39th, tied with North Carolina for fourth place with an 8-under total, while Texas Tech finished sixth at 4-under, and Arizona was seventh at 2-under.

Herendeen and North Carolina's David Ford entered the day one stroke behind Oklahoma State’s Preston Stout in the individual standings. Both scored 3-under 69 for the round, overtaking Stout. However, Ford clinched the medalist honors—and a PGA Tour exemption—when he birdied the first playoff hole.

"Max played solid all week, and had a chance to win this tournament and earn that exemption," said Small. "He had chances to birdie 17 and 18 in regulation, and then the playoff didn't turn out his way, but he played well all week. He deserved to be in that position and he just continues to get better."

Herendeen's performance marked the second time he recorded scores in the 60s across all three rounds of a 54-hole stroke play event. Other notable performances from the Illini included senior Jackson Buchanan, who finished in a tie for 12th after a 3-under 69 closing round. Junior Ryan Voois tied for 23rd with an even-par total of 216, and sophomore Ethan Wilson finished 30th with 218 (+2). Freshman Trey Marrion ended the tournament in 75th place with 232 (+16).

This third-place achievement followed a victory earlier in the week at the Memphis Intercollegiate. The team's focus now shifts to the regular-season finale at the Boilermaker Invitational, hosted by Purdue, set to occur on April 19-20 in West Lafayette, Indiana.