SAUCIER, Miss. – The Fighting Illini men’s golf team carded the third-lowest team score of the day on Sunday – a 9-under 279 – to move up three spots into fourth place with 18 holes remaining at the Fallen Oak Collegiate Invitational at Fallen Oak at Beau Rivage Resort.
Four Illini shot under par in Round 2, each moving up the individual leaderboard, led by rounds of 3-under from juniors Max Herendeen and Dane Huddleston.
For Herendeen, it marked his second straight round 69 and he sits in fifth place, four shots off the 36-hole lead held by Matthew Dodd-Barry of LSU.
Huddleston was the Illini’s biggest mover of the day, climbing nine spots into a tie for 11th with four birdies, including on Holes 16 and 18, overcoming just one bogey. He is 4-under heading into Monday’s finale.
Like Huddleston, sophomore Freddie Turnell also finished particularly strong on Sunday afternoon. Turnell was 2-over through three holes, but shot 4-under over his final 15, including birdies on 15, 16, and 18, to move up eight spots into a tie for 20th at 2-under.
Sophomore Trey Marrion rounded out the scoring for the Illini, following his even-par 72 with a 1-under 71. He is T26 at 3-under, just one stroke outside of the top 25.
Senior Ryan Voois also improved by one stroke on Day 2, carding an even-par 72 to sit in a tie for 42nd at 1-over.
Freshman Dujuan Snyman, competing as an individual, is tied for 64th at 5-over.
No. 9 Louisiana State (-27) holds an eight-stroke edge in the team race with 18 holes to play. No. 5 Arkansas (-19) and No. 20 Alabama (-16) sit just ahead of the Illini in second and third, respectively. Co-host and seventh-ranked Ole Miss (-13) rounds out the top five, three strokes behind Illinois.
The Orange and Blue will be paired with the Rebels and No. 19-ranked Tennessee in Monday’s final round and are set to tee off Hole 1 beginning at 8:50 a.m. CT. Live scoring is available via Clippd Scoreboard.
