Illinois made a furious comeback to erase a 15-stroke deficit to tie UCLA with just a few holes remaining in the final round of the Big Ten Championships. But the Illini stumbled down the stretch, and the Bruins (-8) ultimately pulled out their second consecutive conference title, edging Illinois (-4) by four strokes at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Course in North Plains (Ore.).
After winning a dominant 13 of 14 Big Ten Championships from 2009 to 2023, Illinois has finished in second place at the conference tournament in three straight seasons. Washington finished third as a team at 2-over, while Rutgers finished fourth at 10-over.
The Illini shot 9-under on Sunday to put pressure down the stretch on UCLA, which shot 2-over as a team. But Ryan Voois and Dane Huddleston missed potential birdie putts on 17 and 18, respectively, which would’ve at least temporarily given Illinois the lead, and Max Herendeen then double-bogeyed 17 to all but take Illinois out of the race and kill Herendeen’s hopes at an individual championship.
UCLA’s Josh Kim (-8) won the Big Ten medalist honor, winning the individual tournament by four strokes.
Despite a rough finish, Herendeen bounced back from some spring struggles with a strong start to his postseason. Herendeen (-3) finished tied for third, and he made a key eagle on eight on Sunday. Meanwhile, senior Ryan Voois (-3) shot a 4-under 66 on Sunday to also finish tied for third for the tournament. Voois made six birdies and two bogeys.
Sophomore Freddie Turnell (+1) finished tied for 14th for the tournament after an even-par 70 on Sunday, while Huddleston (+6) tied for 34th after an even-par 70 on Sunday.
Trey Marrion missed Saturday’s round due to illness but gave Illinois a big lift on Sunday in his return to the lineup, shooting a 5-under 65 with six birdies, including key birdies on 17 and 18 to help Illinois push UCLA down the stretch.
Why it matters: The additions of UCLA, Washington and USC have made the Big Ten better at the top, and it’s not nearly as easy for Illinois to dominate the conference as it had for most of the previous decade and a half. Northwestern (2024) and UCLA (2026) had great tournaments in their Big Ten title wins, but those are the types of complete performances Illinois is used to having — and hasn’t had the last three conference tournaments.
What it means: Illinois nearly pulled the reverse of what UCLA did to them last season, but just couldn’t close it out. Illinois blew a six-stroke lead entering round three of last year’s Big Ten Championship as UCLA came back from down eight strokes to beat the Illini. Illini coach Mike Small won’t love that his team, especially his top trio of golfers — Herendeen, Voois and Huddleston — couldn’t make the shots to close out an epic comeback on Sunday, but the legendary coach surely will like that his team showed the competitiveness and grit to put pressure on a UCLA team that played great golf all weekend. So the Illini ultimately didn’t hit Small’s championship standard, but Sunday did show their potential entering NCAA postseason play. The Illini, ranked No. 12 in the country, are still dangerous, but the Illini haven’t quite looked like a true national title contender this season, especially after an inconsistent spring.