Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
Pinetree Intercollegiate
Men's Golf captures tournament championship at Pinetree Intercollegiate
10/24/2017 | 7:05:00 | Men's Golf
Peyton Wilhoit (-7) took medalist honors winning the tournament by four strokes.
The Southern Illinois men's golf team claimed its first tournament title of the season with a victory at Kennesaw State's Pinetree Intercollegiate on Tuesday, and Peyton Wilhoit became the first Saluki golfer to win a tournament championship since Jake Erickson in 2013.
Wilhoit (-7) was far and away the top golfer in the 61-man field, cruising to a four-stroke win over Wisconsin's Sam Anderson. He recorded six birdies and one eagle during the 36-hole tournament and had just one bogey. The victory was the first of his career, and the 7-under par score was a career best.
"That was some special golf that he played, especially in the first round," said SIU head coach Justin Fetcho. "He went 35 holes without making a bogey, which shows how in-control he was of his game. He's been chomping at the bit to win a golf tournament for some time, and I hope it's a springboard to win it many more times."
The team finish came down to the wire with the Salukis edging No. 48-ranked Kennesaw State and No. 93-ranked Wisconsin by one stroke each. Fetcho said there was initially some confusion with the on-line scoring and the team didn't know it had won the tournament until shortly after Wilhoit signed his scorecard.
"What this tournament showed is the difference one shot either way can make," Fetcho said. "We've talked this fall about fighting and clawing for every shot on the golf course and today it proved its worth. To come out one shot ahead of a top-50 team on its home golf course is a phenomenal win for our program."
In addition to Wilhoit's career effort, junior Hunter York (+1) tied for eighth place overall. After shooting a 74 in the first round, he matched Wilhoit's 71 today with a round that featured four birdies.
"This was Hunter's low tournament as a Saluki in his final round when we needed him," Fetcho said. "He played his best golf when something was on the line. He was 3-under on the front nine and that helped pump our guys up. We needed every one of his shots."
Luke Gannon (+4) also turned in a solid performance for SIU, placing 15th. His 70 in round one was the second-best single-round mark on the team behind Wilhoit's opening-round 66.Â
"Luke played great golf yesterday, posted an under-par round yesterday when we needed it," Fetcho observed. "Today I think showed us a lot about him. He got off to a very slow start — he was six-over on his first four holes — but then he played the rest of the golf course even par. To see his resilience — I'm just as impressed with what he was able to do today as with what he did yesterday."
Southern was one of four teams to bring an additional golfer whose individual score did not count toward its team total. Had the scores of Frankie Thomas (E) been included in SIU's team totals, the Salukis would have run away with the tournament. The sophomore shot Even-par and tied for fifth place overall, illustrating the depth of talent on this year's roster.
"Frankie steps up when the lights are shining," Fetcho said. "He's done it the last two tournaments. I'm very impressed with his performance. He could have been down and out  about not being in the top five, but he used it as motivation and comes out and shoots his Saluki career-low."
This was the final tournament of the fall season and the Salukis will resume competition at the Desert Intercollegiate on Feb. 16-17.
"I've been here going on four years and we've won several tournaments including a conference title, but this is the first time where we've really beaten a top-50 team," Fetcho said. "In terms of putting together a complete tournament, hands down this is the best one."Â
Fetcho continued, "none of our guys will stand pat and hope things come their way in the spring. We'll look for ways to save one shot here or there. We have some high goals. We want to play for a national championship. We beat a team today on their home course that played for a national championship last year. We beat some Big Ten teams this fall, we beat an SEC team. We have a lot of talent and can do some great things in the spring. This tournament was a big step in the belief process."
TEAM SCORES
1 Southern Illinois 287 296 583 +7
T2 Wisconsin 289 295 584 +8
T2 Kennesaw State 292 292 584 +8
4 Western Kentucky 287 300 587 +11
5 Northern Illinois 295 298 593 +17
6 Gonzaga 297 300 597 +21
7 Mercer 288 310 598 +22
8 Jacksonville State 297 307 604 +28
9 Nicholls State 307 306 613 +37
10 Florida Gulf Coast U 306 309 615 +39
11 Belmont 301 319 620 +44
SIU SCORES
1 Peyton Wilhoit (1) 66 71 137
T8 Hunter York (2) 74 71 145
T15 Luke Gannon (4) 70 78 148
T41 Dirk Kuehler (3) 80 76 156
T48 Sam Meek (5) 77 81 158
*T5 Frankie Thomas 70 74 Â 144
*Competed as individual.
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Players Mentioned
