Illini Men’s Golf in the Pros | June 9, 2025

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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The University of Illinois men’s golf program will once again be well represented at the 125th U.S. Open with alums and PGA Tour veterans Thomas Detry and Brian Campbell set to tee off alongside recent graduate Jackson Buchanan for the second straight year when the event tees off this week at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pa.

Though not paired together in Rounds 1 and 2 as they were in 2024, the trio who combined for eight All-America selections and three Big Ten Golfer of the Year awards (one each) as Illini – will all tee off within 55 minutes of one another on Thursday and Friday.  

Detry, currently the World’s No. 35-ranked golfer, will make his fourth career start at the U.S. Open and was exempt from qualifying based on his top-60 points leader in the OWGR as of May 19. In 2020 at Winged Foot he finished T49, then missed the cut in 2021 at Torrey Pines. Last year at Pinehurst, the Belgian finished T14. He opens play at 7:02 a.m. CT Thursday and tees off at 12:47 p.m. CT on Friday.

Campbell was exempt from qualifying as a top-five player in the 2025 FedEx Cup standings, not otherwise exempt, as of May 19. He is also set to make his fourth U.S. Open start . Following his Big Ten Golfer of the Year campaign as a junior at Illinois in 2014, Campbell competed in his first U.S. Open – also at Pinehurst No. 2 – but missed the cut. A year later, he returned to the field and finished T27 at Chambers Bay. Last year, in his return to Pinehurst, Campbell finished T56. He tees off at 7:13 a.m. CT on Thursday and 12:58 p.m. CT on Friday. 

Buchanan, the 2024 Big Ten Golfer of the Year, advanced through local qualifying at Piedmont Driving Club in Atlanta where he shot a two-round total of 126 (-18) to tie for the win.  The 2025 Byron Nelson Award winner, Illinois’ Big Ten Medal of Honor recipient, unanimous All-Big Ten selection, and GCAA PING All-America honorable mention selection, Buchanan is set to make his professional debut this week beginning at 7:57 a.m. CT in Round 1, followed by a 1:42 p.m. CT tee time for Round 2. 

He finished his senior year ranking first on the team and third in the Big Ten at No. 37 in the NCAA Division I men’s golf player rankings and reached as high as 11th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR) during the season. This year, he posted a career-best stroke average of 70.93 and secured his fourth-career collegiate victory at the Fallen Oak Collegiate Invitational. He posted a team-best eight top-10 finishes, including a third-place showing in the team’s win last fall at the Steelwood Collegiate Invitational, and led the Orange and Blue with 26 of 42 rounds at par or better.

LIVE GOLF LEAGUE

Thomas Pieters is coming off of his second consecutive individual T4 finish last week at LIV Virginia, where he helped lead 4Aces GC to a runner-up team finish. This comes a month after Pieters also finished T4 at LIV Korea and matches his career-best finish on the LIV tour.

Pieters is now up to 16th in LIV’s individual season standings.

KORN FERRY TOUR

Adrien Dumont de Chassart returned to the site of his first professional win last week to post a T14 finish at the BMW Charity Pro-Am with a score of -15 that was jumpstarted by an 8-under 63 in Round 1.

Hot start on Thursday for the 2023 @BMWCharityProAm champ ?? pic.twitter.com/Qrthabvf3s

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) June 5, 2025

Dumont de Chassart won the event in his professional debut in 2023 and went on to finish that season as the Korn Ferry Tour’s Rookie of the Year. Over the last six weeks, Dumont de Chassart has recorded top-20 finishes in all five of his Korn Ferry Tour starts, and is currently No. 33 on the season points list.

PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS

Steve Stricker once again hosted the American Family Insurance Championship at TPC Wisconsin in Madison and teamed up with brother-in-law Mario Tiziani to finish T2 in just his fourth event of the 2025 season which has been hampered by injury.

13 birdies and an eagle ??

Team @SteveStricker and @MarioTiziani showing out for the hometown @amfamchamp. pic.twitter.com/I0zcDBS08h

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) June 7, 2025