No. 20 USC Kicks Off Season At Fighting Illini Invitational

The USC men's golf team, ranked No. 20 in the preseason and led by returning All-American first teamer and the reigning Pac-12 Player of the Year Justin Suh, kicks off the 2018-19 fall campaign at the Fighting Illini Invitational at Olympia Fields (Ill.) C.C., Friday through Sunday (Sept. 14-16).

The Trojans, the defending 2018 Pac-12 champions, are part of a 14-team field that also includes host Illinois, Alabama, Air Force, Baylor, California, Florida State, Indiana, UNLV, Oklahoma State, Purdue, South Carolina, Stanford and Texas A&M.

Play on the par 70, 7,353-yard course is set to start at 6 a.m. PT Friday and Saturday and at 5:30 a.m. on Sunday. Results will be available here. USC, a two-time winner last season, finished 12^th in this event in last year's season-opener.

The Trojans will begin the season with a starting lineup consisting of Suh, sophomore Kaito Onishi (the 2018 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year), juniors Kyle Suppa and Cheng Jin and freshman Charlie Reiter.

Suh is coming off one of the top seasons in USC history. The senior from San Jose, Calif., won a USC-record five tournaments, capped by the Pac-12 Championships individual title. He also broke USC's season records for stroke average (68.73), lowering Jamie Lovemark's 2007 mark (70.10). Suh's 21 rounds under 70 in 2018 also broke Lovemark's school standard of 20 from the same season.

In addition to his 21 rounds in the 60s, he had 23 rounds under par and 28 of par or better in 33 rounds. In addition to his 21 rounds in the 60s, he had 23 rounds under par and 28 of par or better in 33 rounds.

Suh was one of five finalists for the Jack Nicklaus Award, among 10 semifinalists for the 2018 Ben Hogan Award and was among the top 3 all season on the 2018 Haskins Award Watch List. He also played on the 2018 Palmer Cup Team and represented the U.S. at the 2018 World Amateur Team Championships, helping the American squad to second place and tied for third overall.

Onishi was second on the squad last year in stroke average (71.85) and rounds in the 60s (eight). Included in the early-season Arnold Palmer Cup rankings for the international team (15^th), he had a pair of top 4 finishes, four top 20s and seven results in the top 28.

Jin was third on the team in stroke average (72.33) with four top 23 finishes last year while Suppa was fourth (72.73) with three top 20 finishes.

Reiter, one of two freshmen on this year's squad along with Cameron Henry, was among the top amateurs to sign last fall. He was a 2017 U.S. Amateur and 2017 U.S. Junior Amateur qualifier.

Also back this year is senior Sam Kim, redshirt juniors Ryan Slater and Ing Ratanavadi and sophomores Issei Tanabe and Owen Calvin-Smith.

Players Mentioned

Owen Calvin-Smith

Cameron Henry

Sam Kim

Kaito Onishi

Charlie Reiter

Ryan Slater

Justin Suh

Kyle Suppa

Issei Tanabe