Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Men's Golf signs three for 2015-2016 season
05/26/2015 | 12:00:00 | Men's Golf
By Tony McDaniel
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Saluki men's golf team signed three players to national letters of intent to increase its recruiting class to four players for the upcoming season.
Jacob Henderson, from Eugene, Ore., Luke Gannon from Bel Aire, Kan., and Matt Greenfield from Hassocks, England will play their first seasons of Division I golf for SIU beginning in the fall.
"I am extremely excited to have these three young men join our program.All three of them are good students and have shown that they have a lot of upside on the golf course," said head coach Justin Fetcho.
The three signees will join Peyton Wilhoit, who signed in November, as newcomers to the team.
Henderson played for Western Texas Junior College for two seasons and finished tied for 18th at the NJCAA National Championship in 2015. He finished the season No. 42 in the NJCAA rankings, according to Golfstat.com. Henderson averaged a score of 74.4 strokes per round as a sophomore for the Westerners.
"Jacob comes to us as one of the best players from a Top 10 NJCAA program in the country," Fetcho said. "He gained valuable experience during his two seasons there and I look forward to continuing to help him develop and reach his goals of playing in the NCAA Championship."
Henderson is a two-time club champion at Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Ore., the site of the 2016 NCAA National Championship.
Gannon played for Wichita Heights High School and was ranked No. 7 in the state of Kansas last season and qualified for the state tournament all-four years. His low round at Wichita Heights, a 66, was the lowest in his school's history.
"I believe Luke's best golf is in front of him and with his work ethic, attitude and desire, I feel he can be a big part of our future," Fetcho said.
Greenfield will join the team as the only Saluki from outside the United States, but it will not be the first time he plays golf in Illinois.
Greenfield played 11 tournaments for Rend Lake College last season and finished in the top-10 nine times. In his season with the Warriors, Greenfield was ranked No. 7 in NJCAA Division II and was named an All-American.
Greenfield won the Rend Lake College Invitational in April and was a runner-up four more times last season.
Prior to his time at Rend Lake, Greenfield played for Sussex Downs College's golf academy in Eastbourne, England where he played in the British Colleges National Final.
"Matt is a great ball striker and his game will set up very well for the longer, demanding courses that we will see next year," Fetcho said. "I fully expect Matt to make an immediate impact on this program over the next two years."
