Men's Golf opens season with win at Murray State

Tuesday, September 13

Murray, Ky.

All Day

Southern Illinois University

Murray State Invitational

09/13/2016 | 4:29:00 | Men's Golf

Results Complete Results COMPLETE RESULTS

By: By Tom Weber, SIUSalukis.com

The Southern Illinois men's golf team opened its season by rallying from two strokes down to win the Murray State Invitational on Tuesday. The Salukis trailed UT-Martin heading into today's final round, but finished four strokes ahead of the Skyhawks with a closing round score of 276.

SIU's comeback was sparked by returnees Brandon Carlson (68), Matt Greenfield (69) and Peyton Wilhoit (68), who each carded sub-70 rounds on the final 18. Combined with Luke Gannon's Even-par 71, Southern shot a 276 for the day, which ranks fourth-best in school history. All four players were instrumental in last year's NCAA post-season run and drew from that experience during today's play.

"Our veterans were able to step up and handle the pressure," said head coach Justin Fetcho. "They're the same group that did it last year, and it builds confidence and momentum. The game of golf is such a mental game. We came in with the attitude we could win this golf tournament."

Carlson and Greenfield tied for third place overall at 4-under par. Carlson was the field's best player on Par 5 holes with an 8-under mark that included one eagle. Greenfield played a steady game with 41 pars, second-best in the tournament.

Easily the most surprising result of the tournament was the play of freshman Frankie Thomas. He finished seventh out of SIU's nine-man roster in pre-qualifying competition, and was not included in the team's five-man score. However, Thomas turned in a stunning performance at Murray State, placing sixth overall at 2-under par. He tied the school record with a 64 in his first collegiate round.

"For him to shoot a 64 and then finish 6th in his first collegiate tournament is just a phenomenal thing that he will remember the rest of his life," Fetcho said. "I couldn't be more proud of what he accomplished. I knew he had the talent to be able to come in and do it. It's also a good sign, and shows you the depth in our program, when your No. 7 guy can shoot in the mid-60s."

SIU's 54-hole score of 840 was just one stroke shy of the school-record 839 established in 2006. Fetcho said it will be competitive throughout the season just to make Southern's five-man travel roster.

"It's going to be a dog-fight to see who is going to be our team," he said. "If everybody gets clicking at right time, we could be very dangerous. The guys will continue to push each other to get better."

TEAM SCORES

1. Southern Illinois 284-280-276 = 840 (-12)

2. UT Martin 282-280-282 = 844 (-8)

3. Green Bay 288-287-274 = 849 (-3)

4. Evansville 294-282-287 = 863 (+11)

5. Western Illinois 289-292-287 = 868 (+16)

6. Murray State (B) 290-295-287 = 872 (+20)

7. Missouri Baptist 290-294-298 = 882 (+30)

8. Murray State 304-296-289 = 889 (+37)

9. Southern Indiana 301-303-290 = 894 (+42)

10. Bethel University 304-309-304 = 917 (+65)

INDIVIDUAL