Michigan State University Athletics
Saturday, April 20
Atkins Golf Club (Champaign, Ill.)
All Day
Michigan State University
vs
Illini Spring Invite
Men’s Golf Closes Regular Season at Illini Spring Collegiate
4/19/2024 4:47:00 PM | Men's Golf
East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State's men's golf team closes out the regular season this weekend, playing in the Fighting Illini Spring Collegiate in Champaign, Ill. on Saturday, April 20 and Sunday, April 21.
The two-day, 54-hole tournament will be held at the par-71, 7,503-yard Atkins Golf Club on the campus of the University of Illinois. Each team will have five players in a count-four format, with 36 holes of continuous play on Saturday (8:30 a.m. ET start), followed by 18 holes on Sunday (9 a.m. ET start).
Michigan State tees off at 8:30 a.m., playing alongside Illinois and Northwestern.
FIGHTING ILLINI SPRING COLLEGIATE
Dates: Saturday, April 20 – Saturday, April 21
Course: Atkins Golf Club, Champaign, Ill.
Par/Yardage: 71 / 7,503
Format: Stroke play, 54 holes / Play five, count four
Live Stats: Golfstat
Schedule – Sunday – 36 holes of continuous play beginning with an 8:30 a.m. (ET) shotgun start.
Sunday – 18 holes with tee times beginning at 9 a.m. (ET).
MSU LINEUP
No. 1 – Ashton McCulloch
No. 2 – August Meekhof
No. 3 – Drew Hackett
No. 4 – Bradley Smithson
No. 5 – Lucas Acevedo
IND – Lorenzo Pinili
THE FIELD
Illinois, ranked No. 18 in the latest NCAA Division I golf rankings, welcomes a 12-team field that includes four teams ranked among the top-100 in the country – Northwestern (No. 39), Michigan State (No. 81), Michigan (No. 89) and Toledo (No. 94), as well as Ball State, Marquette, UC San Diego, Butler, South Dakota, DePaul and Loyola Chicago.
RESULTS
Live scoring for the event is available through Golfstat.
ABOUT THE SPARTANS
Michigan State enters the final event of the regular season with four-straight top finishes, including a tie for the second place at the Hoosier Collegiate last weekend in Indiana.
Junior Ashton McCulloch has been the team's top finisher six times this year, including the last three events and last weekend when he tied for seventh place at 6-over par 219. McCulloch leads the team with a 70.89 scoring average and has two top-5 finishes and four among the top-10. Graduate student Drew Hackett is second on the team with a 72.08 scoring average and has five top-20 finishes, including a tie for sixth place at the Johnnie-O at Sea Island at 7-under par 209. Senior August Meekhof is third on the team with a 72.47 average and classmate Bradley Smithson carries a 72.67 average, including a season-best 11th place finish at the Bridgestone Collegiate (even-par 216) and two top-20 showings in hist last two events.
LUBAHN'S THOUGHTS
"I'm proud of what this group has done this spring and leading into this final event. We started the year off great and then struggled at the end of the Fall season. The guys looked in the mirror and knew what they needed to do and have played like the team we thought, and they thought, they would be over the last two months. The reality is that we probably have some work to do this weekend, but we want to continue playing well and carry that into the Big Ten Championship."
The two-day, 54-hole tournament will be held at the par-71, 7,503-yard Atkins Golf Club on the campus of the University of Illinois. Each team will have five players in a count-four format, with 36 holes of continuous play on Saturday (8:30 a.m. ET start), followed by 18 holes on Sunday (9 a.m. ET start).
Michigan State tees off at 8:30 a.m., playing alongside Illinois and Northwestern.
FIGHTING ILLINI SPRING COLLEGIATE
Dates: Saturday, April 20 – Saturday, April 21
Course: Atkins Golf Club, Champaign, Ill.
Par/Yardage: 71 / 7,503
Format: Stroke play, 54 holes / Play five, count four
Live Stats: Golfstat
Schedule – Sunday – 36 holes of continuous play beginning with an 8:30 a.m. (ET) shotgun start.
Sunday – 18 holes with tee times beginning at 9 a.m. (ET).
MSU LINEUP
No. 1 – Ashton McCulloch
No. 2 – August Meekhof
No. 3 – Drew Hackett
No. 4 – Bradley Smithson
No. 5 – Lucas Acevedo
IND – Lorenzo Pinili
THE FIELD
Illinois, ranked No. 18 in the latest NCAA Division I golf rankings, welcomes a 12-team field that includes four teams ranked among the top-100 in the country – Northwestern (No. 39), Michigan State (No. 81), Michigan (No. 89) and Toledo (No. 94), as well as Ball State, Marquette, UC San Diego, Butler, South Dakota, DePaul and Loyola Chicago.
RESULTS
Live scoring for the event is available through Golfstat.
ABOUT THE SPARTANS
Michigan State enters the final event of the regular season with four-straight top finishes, including a tie for the second place at the Hoosier Collegiate last weekend in Indiana.
Junior Ashton McCulloch has been the team's top finisher six times this year, including the last three events and last weekend when he tied for seventh place at 6-over par 219. McCulloch leads the team with a 70.89 scoring average and has two top-5 finishes and four among the top-10. Graduate student Drew Hackett is second on the team with a 72.08 scoring average and has five top-20 finishes, including a tie for sixth place at the Johnnie-O at Sea Island at 7-under par 209. Senior August Meekhof is third on the team with a 72.47 average and classmate Bradley Smithson carries a 72.67 average, including a season-best 11th place finish at the Bridgestone Collegiate (even-par 216) and two top-20 showings in hist last two events.
LUBAHN'S THOUGHTS
"I'm proud of what this group has done this spring and leading into this final event. We started the year off great and then struggled at the end of the Fall season. The guys looked in the mirror and knew what they needed to do and have played like the team we thought, and they thought, they would be over the last two months. The reality is that we probably have some work to do this weekend, but we want to continue playing well and carry that into the Big Ten Championship."
Players Mentioned
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