Josele Ballester Wins Illini Invitational; Matches Tournament Record

U.S. Amateur champion Josele Ballester checked another box with his first collegiate win in strong fashion at the 18th annual Olympia Fields Illini Invitational.

Ballester matched the tournament record with a 10-under 200 (64-66-70). His group had to finish the round Sunday morning when the three-day tournament adjusted to a 36-hold day on Saturday due to weather concerns. Most of the group finished on Saturday, but Ballester had to close the deal early Sunday.

He became the Sun Devils' second medalist at the event, and the first since Niklas Lemke won the inaugural tournament in 2006. His final score of 200 (-10) also tied the event record set by Alabama's Davis Riley in 2017. It marked his eighth top-five finish.

Georgia Tech took the team title with a 12-under 828 (279-277-272), topping ASU by one stroke as the Sun Devils shot 11-under 829 (273-276-280).

JOSELE BALLESTER CAREER COLLEGIATE TOP-FIVE FINISHES
1 -- Olympia Fields Fighting Illini Invitational (Sept. 20-22, 2024/78) 64-66-70=200/-10
T2nd -- Sahalee Players Championship (Sept. 7-8, 2024/41) 69-69-72=213/-3
2nd -- Dove Mountain Intercollegiate (Feb. 28-Mar. 1, 2022/41) 69-69-74=212/-4
T2nd -- NCAA Stockton Regional (May 18-20, 2022/72) 68-69-71=208/-10
4th -- The Calusa Cup (Apr. 2-4, 2023/72) 73-72-70=215/-1
4th -- Pac-12 Championship (Apr. 25-27, 2022/72) 68-70-72-72=282/-2
T4th-- East Lake Cup (Oct. 24, 2022/72) 70/-2
T4th -- Thunderbird Collegiate (Apr. 15-16, 2022/88) 67-65-70=202/-11
T5th -- Las Vegas NCAA Regional (May 15-17, 2023/72) 64-70-67=201/-15/T5
5th -- Oregon Duck Invitational (Mar. 21-22, 2022/90) 71-73-68=212/-1

COACH THURMOND'S INDIVIDUAL TITLES
Ballester became the 11th Sun Devil to win an individual title in a team tournament in Matt Thurmond nine seasons (2016-present). He joins Preston Summerhays, Wenyi Ding, James Leow, David Puig, Cameron Sisk, Mason Andersen, Alex del Rey, Chun An Yu, Jared du Toit and Ki Taek Lee.

OLYMPIA FIELDS COUNTRY CLUB/FIGHTING ILLINI INVITE
OLYMPIA FIELDS COUNTRY CLUB
OLYMPIA FIELDS, IL
SEPT. 20-22, 2024
TEAMS (15)
Georgia Tech 279-277-272=828/-12
Arizona State 273-279-280=829/-11
Oklahoma State 284-277-278=839/-1
North Carolina 279-277-283=839/-1
Texas 281-283-279=843/+3
Stanford 280-285-283=848/+8
Texas A&M 286-279-283=848/+8
Illinois 280-286-283=849/+9
Florida 279-287-284=850/+10
Texas Tech 287-286-277=850/+10
Florida State 280-289-281=850/+10
Alabama 291-286-279=856/+16
Northwestern 283-285-290=858/+18
Baylor 295-289-293=877/+37
Michigan 300-290-288=878/+38

INDIVIDUALS (78)
T1. Josele Ballester, ASU 64-66-70=200/-10
2. Benjamin Reuter, Georgia Tech 64-70-68=202/-6
T11. Peer Wernicke, ASU 69-70-69=208/-2
T17. Connor Williams, ASU 69-68-73=210/E
T28. Nick Prieto, ASU 71-72-70=213/+3
T44. Preston Summerhays, ASU 72-73-71=216/+6