Men's golf travels back to the Midwest for the Illini Invitational

The Arizona State men's golf team travels to Chicago this weekend to compete in the Illini Invitational. The tournament, hosted by the University of Illinois, is being played at Olympia Fields Country Club, the host of 16 major championships. The 54-hole format will pit some of the nations best team against each other. Along with ASU, Duke (13), Florida State (8), Oklahoma State (7), Tennessee (15), and Stanford (1) will all compete in this early season tournament. The first two rounds will commence on Sunday, September 30, with the final round on Monday. The teams will play on the 7,200 yard, par-70 North Course for all three rounds.

After last weeks solid showing, Coach Randy Lein will keep a similar lineup. This weekend's lineup will include: Jesper KennegardKnut Borsheim (Bergen, Norway), Cameron Edens (Phoenix, Ariz.), James Byrne (Banchory, Scotland), and Steele DeWald (Phoenix, Ariz.). This is James Byrne's first action at ASU as he missed last weekend's tournament competing for his country of Scotland in International play. (Klippan, Sweden),

With their strong showing last weekend at the Ping Preview, ASU was rewarded by a slight jump in the national rankings. This week's rankings have the Sun Devils at No. 14 in Golfweek and No. 17 in Nike/Golfworld. Also, as an individual, Jesper Kennegard moved up to No. 25. Last season in Chicago, Niklas Lemke was the first Sun Devil to win the Illini Invitational. Live stats will be available during the tournament at Golfstat.com.