How the 2024 U.S. Open became a springboard for these University of Illinois golfers

Jackson Buchanan felt aimless through the first nine holes of his opening round at the U.S. Open.

The scorecard swelled to 7-over-par at the historic Pinehurst No. 2 course before quickly recovering. He dispensed any second thoughts the rest of the way and finished 6-over by the end of the second round.

Although he missed the cut by one stroke, it boded well for the future.

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The incoming University of Illinois senior certainly capitalized on that momentum through the first two rounds of the Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS on Thursday and Friday at Panther Creek Country Club.

He conjured five straight birdies to begin the opening round and not only cleared the cut by a mile but moved near close to the top 10 with back-to-back rounds of 5-under 66.

That U.S. Open experience taught Buchanan that even golf’s biggest names are human.

“That front nine, I was like, ‘I really don’t know what I’m doing out here,’” Buchanan said. “I turned at 7-over and missed the cut by one, so I played my last 27 (holes) 1-under. That first front nine, you’re like, ‘Am I even supposed to be here?’ But it was a great experience, and it prepared me well for this.”

Buchanan won two individual titles and finished runnerup in the Big Ten Championship this past season as a junior to become the Big Ten Golfer of the Year — not unlike his predecessor, Adrien Dumont de Chassart, who won the award the previous three years with the Fighting Illini.

Chassart tied for 41st at the Memorial Health tournament last summer before ascending to the PGA Tour.

“They just kind of raised me when I got there as a freshman,” Buchanan said of Illinois’ array of talent. “They told me what to do and what not to do, and I think I’ve taken that with me. They’re worried about their own games right now. We all support each other, but Adrien’s playing the Rocket (Mortgage Classic), and Tommy (Kuhl) is up in Canada ... I go with the flow, but I definitely learned a lot from them.”

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His former high school teammate in Georgia, Sam Haynes, remained on the bag. Haynes' dyed hair prompted the nickname Silver Fox at Pinehurst, Buchanan said with a laugh.

Buchanan certainly seemed comfortable on the greens on Thursday. The amateur dialed up his fifth straight birdie from 15 feet before another birdie on the seventh hole to go 6-under. A double bogey on a diabolical 239-yard par-3 derailed that hot streak.

“I’m soaking it in, but I’m trying to learn about my game,” Buchanan said.

Buchanan tied for 18th place with a slew of other players after two rounds. That included 2019 Illini graduate Dylan Meyer, who nearly matched the course record with a round of 10-under on Friday after opening even-par.

Another Illinois alum, Brian Campbell, narrowly missed the cut at 5-under after going 4-under the previous day. He was still projected at No. 13 in the Korn Ferry Tour standings with three top-10 finishes on the résumé this year, including eighth place at last weekend’s Compliance Solutions Championship in Oklahoma.

He also made the cut at this year’s U.S. Open. Campbell called it redemption after missing the cut by one stroke on the same hallowed grounds in 2014.

“I was excited to go back out,” Campbell said. “I definitely had vengeance on my mind, ‘Let’s make the cut and make it worthwhile.’ It was fun.”

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Campbell has had to overcome a malaise of injuries over the last few years beginning with his hamstring, which only led to discomfort in his wrists and shoulders due to overexertion.

“I think I've just been really patient this year,” Campbell said. “I’m coming off a year or two of injuries that plagued me for a bit. I’m really just happy and excited to be playing golf again out here, and I think I’m a little more focused on what I need to do personally. It definitely helps to have some early success in the year and take a little pressure off.”

Staying patient is easier said than done, Campbell said.

“I think just playing so many tournaments like that really got bad muscle memory involved, so it’s been a process getting out of that,” Campbell said. “The fact that I’m out here and able to compete with these guys is icing on the cake.”

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: How the 2024 U.S. Open became a springboard for these University of Illinois golfers