The 2025 Big Ten Men’s Golf Championship is set to take place from Friday to Sunday and the USC men’s golf team is heading to Baltimore, Maryland to battle it out in the 18-team, 54-hole competition. 

“It’s a very quality, high-end tough golf course,” Head Coach Mark Hankins said in an interview with the Daily Trojan on Wednesday. “Our challenge this week is not only the other teams, but also to play a really good golf course and try to shoot our best score individually and as a team.” 

The Trojans are heading to the conference tournament with confidence this season. They finished the season with a No. 48 national ranking and claimed the Southern Dunes Invitational Team Title, the first tournament win in four years for the Trojans.

Hankins attributed a lot of USC’s success this season to their roster construction.

“We have good team depth, which I think is important, because in golf, you count four scores out of five each round. So all five guys play, and we take the best four scores,” Hankins said. “So if you have five really good players, you have a better chance of throwing out a score.” 

In the starting five, freshman Jack Buchanan stands out among all. He has had a strong debut season and was named Big Ten Men’s Golfer of the Week in October 2024. 

Another standout golfer who is also in his debut season is freshman Jaden Dumdumaya, who last week delivered a career-best performance in the final round, shooting a 65, the lowest round in the field that day. This propelled him up 23 spots on the leaderboard to finish tied for 23rd at three-under-par.

Junior Antonio Safa participated in all nine tournaments for the Trojans during the regular season. He maintained a stroke average of 72.44 over 27 rounds, and throughout the season, he provided a steady performance and resilience across various courses. 

The outcome of the Big Ten Championship will likely have a significant impact on the NCAA rankings, serving as a primary performance indicator. 

Hankins noted that the expectation the team has set is to make the NCAA tournament.

“We’re here to play another great tournament, because this tournament counts toward going to the NCAA tournament,” Hankins said. “We’re trying to treat it like a normal tournament.”

As they enter the Big Ten Championship, the Trojans might aim to capitalize on their low-scoring potential and individual talent across the lineup. 

“As a team, our goal is to finish probably in the top six …  just based on where we’re ranked,” Hankins said. “We always have the expectation that we’re going to compete to win a championship, but you have to kind of go at it one round at a time.” 

The Trojans have put together a great season compared to recent history, but now all the focus goes to Baltimore for the conference tournament. 

“We’ve talked a lot this week about controlling the things that you can control,” Hankins said. “Just control what you can control. The best way to contribute to this team is to shoot your own best round.”

With a strong team chemistry and a wealth of young talent, the Trojans have already laid a solid foundation to feel confident. They tee off Friday in Baltimore at Baltimore Country Club as they try to make it to the NCAA Tournament.