ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Three Fighting Illini men's golfers were recognized by the Big Ten on Tuesday (Aug. 29) when junior Jackson Buchanan, senior Piercen Hunt, and fifth-year senior Jerry Ji were named to the conference's 2023-24 Preseason Honors list.
The trio returns to Fighting Illini after helping the team to a conference-record eighth consecutive Big Ten Championship, the 13th of the last 14 overall, and the program's 14th match-play berth at the 2023 NCAA Championship.
Buchanan had a breakout season as a sophomore in 2022-23, earning unanimous All-Big Ten first-team honors to go along with GCAA All-Midwest Region and PING All-America second-team accolades. The Dacula, Ga., native closed his season in spectacular fashion at the NCAA Championship where he finished second during stroke play with a 72-hole tally of 274 (-6), one stroke behind individual national champion Fred Biondi of Florida. His runner-up finish ranks as the third-best individual NCAA Championship finish in program history, behind only Scott Langley and Thomas Pieters who won individual national titles in 2010 and 2012, respectively. The finish at Grayhawk also secured his status as an NCAA All-American, awarded to the top 15 finishers. Buchanan played in all 13 events for the Illini and ranked third on the team with a stroke average of 70.92, almost two full strokes better than his previous season-best of 72.84 set as a freshman. He recorded 10 top-25 finishes with five top 5s, including his first-career victory at the Tiger Collegiate Invitational (April 10-11) in which he shot 66-62-66 to set a program-record score of 194 (-22). His Round 2 score of 62 (-10) also broke the program record for a single-round score, and the Illini closed the event with the program record for a 54-hole team tally. Buchanan recorded 23 of 39 rounds at par or better, while carding 14 rounds in the 60s, both of which also ranked third on the team behind first team All-Americans Adrien Dumont de Chassart and Tommy Kuhl. Most recently, Buchanan tied for first in stroke play at the U.S. Amateur to advance to match play as the No. 2 seed.
Hunt, from Hartland, Wis., enters his senior season after earning back-to-back GCAA All-Midwest Region and second team All-Big Ten accolades as a sophomore and junior in 2021-22 and 2022-23. Last year, he ranked fifth on the team with a season stroke average of 72.17 over 36 rounds, competing in 12 of 13 events for the Illini. Hunt added two top-10 finishes last year to bring his career total for the Orange and Blue to nine, highlighted by his victory at the 2021 Isleworth Collegiate. One of Hunt's top-10 efforts last season was a fifth-place finish at the Tiger Collegiate Invitational where he carded a career-low 64 (-8) in Round 2 and posted the best 54-hole tally of his collegiate career with a 202 (-14). Hunt tied for 13th at the 2023 Big Ten Championship, and placed 18th at the NCAA Bath Regional to help Illinois return to the NCAA Championship. This summer he qualified for his third consecutive U.S. Amateur and broke through with a fourth-place finish in stroke play to advance to match play of the prestigious event for the first time.
Ji, who hails from Hoofddorp, Netherlands, enters the 2023-24 season looking for a return to the Fighting Illini lineup after competing as a mainstay in the team's top five over his first three seasons from 2019-20 through 2021-22. Last year he competed in 15 rounds over five events, all as an individual competitor, and posted a season-best finish of 25th at the Hal Williams Collegiate in mid-February. For his career, Ji has carded 100 rounds in Orange and Blue, the most on the team, and boasts a career stroke average of 72.52. He is a two-time GCAA All-Midwest Region selection and earned first team All-Big Ten honors in 2020-21 and second team all-conference in 2019-20, the same year he was tabbed as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
The Illini open the 2023-24 schedule Sept. 9-10 at the Sahalee Players Championship in Sammamish, Wash, before returning to Illinois to host the OFCC Fighting Illini Invitational at famed Olympia Fields Country Club, Sept. 15-17..
The trio returns to Fighting Illini after helping the team to a conference-record eighth consecutive Big Ten Championship, the 13th of the last 14 overall, and the program's 14th match-play berth at the 2023 NCAA Championship.
Buchanan had a breakout season as a sophomore in 2022-23, earning unanimous All-Big Ten first-team honors to go along with GCAA All-Midwest Region and PING All-America second-team accolades. The Dacula, Ga., native closed his season in spectacular fashion at the NCAA Championship where he finished second during stroke play with a 72-hole tally of 274 (-6), one stroke behind individual national champion Fred Biondi of Florida. His runner-up finish ranks as the third-best individual NCAA Championship finish in program history, behind only Scott Langley and Thomas Pieters who won individual national titles in 2010 and 2012, respectively. The finish at Grayhawk also secured his status as an NCAA All-American, awarded to the top 15 finishers. Buchanan played in all 13 events for the Illini and ranked third on the team with a stroke average of 70.92, almost two full strokes better than his previous season-best of 72.84 set as a freshman. He recorded 10 top-25 finishes with five top 5s, including his first-career victory at the Tiger Collegiate Invitational (April 10-11) in which he shot 66-62-66 to set a program-record score of 194 (-22). His Round 2 score of 62 (-10) also broke the program record for a single-round score, and the Illini closed the event with the program record for a 54-hole team tally. Buchanan recorded 23 of 39 rounds at par or better, while carding 14 rounds in the 60s, both of which also ranked third on the team behind first team All-Americans Adrien Dumont de Chassart and Tommy Kuhl. Most recently, Buchanan tied for first in stroke play at the U.S. Amateur to advance to match play as the No. 2 seed.
Hunt, from Hartland, Wis., enters his senior season after earning back-to-back GCAA All-Midwest Region and second team All-Big Ten accolades as a sophomore and junior in 2021-22 and 2022-23. Last year, he ranked fifth on the team with a season stroke average of 72.17 over 36 rounds, competing in 12 of 13 events for the Illini. Hunt added two top-10 finishes last year to bring his career total for the Orange and Blue to nine, highlighted by his victory at the 2021 Isleworth Collegiate. One of Hunt's top-10 efforts last season was a fifth-place finish at the Tiger Collegiate Invitational where he carded a career-low 64 (-8) in Round 2 and posted the best 54-hole tally of his collegiate career with a 202 (-14). Hunt tied for 13th at the 2023 Big Ten Championship, and placed 18th at the NCAA Bath Regional to help Illinois return to the NCAA Championship. This summer he qualified for his third consecutive U.S. Amateur and broke through with a fourth-place finish in stroke play to advance to match play of the prestigious event for the first time.
Ji, who hails from Hoofddorp, Netherlands, enters the 2023-24 season looking for a return to the Fighting Illini lineup after competing as a mainstay in the team's top five over his first three seasons from 2019-20 through 2021-22. Last year he competed in 15 rounds over five events, all as an individual competitor, and posted a season-best finish of 25th at the Hal Williams Collegiate in mid-February. For his career, Ji has carded 100 rounds in Orange and Blue, the most on the team, and boasts a career stroke average of 72.52. He is a two-time GCAA All-Midwest Region selection and earned first team All-Big Ten honors in 2020-21 and second team all-conference in 2019-20, the same year he was tabbed as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
The Illini open the 2023-24 schedule Sept. 9-10 at the Sahalee Players Championship in Sammamish, Wash, before returning to Illinois to host the OFCC Fighting Illini Invitational at famed Olympia Fields Country Club, Sept. 15-17..
