Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Men's Golf announces fall signing class
11/15/2018 | 8:43:00 | Men's Golf
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois men's golf head coach Justin Fetcho announced the addition of two signees during the fall signing period — high school senior Riley Klingelberg and NAIA transfer Birgir Magnusson. Both will join the team in the fall of 2019.
A native of Murrieta, Calif., Klingelberg is currently ranked 24th in the Rolex American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) rankings in the state of California. He posted seven top-20 finishes in AJGA events, including a tie for fourth at the Scott Stallings Championship last summer. He was the youngest player to qualify for the Southern California Golf Association Amateur (SCGA) this year and has a 73.4 scoring average.
"We are excited to welcome Riley to the Saluki family today," Fetcho said. "He is very athletic and has great clubhead speed, so we believe he has a great foundation to come here and make an immediate impact on our program. He has tremendous upside and his best golf is still in front of him."
Magnusson, a native of Hafnarfjordur, Iceland, will transfer from Bethany College (Kan.) where he won the 2018 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) individual championship. This fall, he averaged 72.09 strokes and made four top-10 finishes for Bethany. In Iceland, he was member of the Under-18 National Team and was ranked as the No. 3 player in Iceland. He is ranked No. 486 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), which is the best world ranking of any Saluki player on signing day in program history
"We are excited that Birgir has chosen to join our program and achieve both his academic and athletic goals at SIU," Fetcho said. "He is 6-foot-5 and another very good athlete with great clubhead speed. Birgir has collegiate experience and success at the NAIA level, and we look forward to him making an immediate impact for us."
The Salukis recently completed a successful fall season in which they won a tournament hosted by Indiana and competed in some of golf's most prestigious events, including tournaments hosted by Iowa, Northwestern, Notre Dame and Hawaii. The signing class will help offset the loss next year of three seniors — Peyton Wilhoit, Luke Gannon and Hunter York — who have made a major impact on the program's recent rise to national prominence.
"Riley and Birgir were exactly what we are looking for to continue our strong academic and athletic culture here," Fetcho said. "They have the gift of a strong swing speed, which is something you can't teach, and we will look to continue working on that strength, but also focus on improving their inefficiencies so that they can reach their goals. They will both be great students in the classroom and are two people that Saluki Nation will be proud to have associated with our program."
A native of Murrieta, Calif., Klingelberg is currently ranked 24th in the Rolex American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) rankings in the state of California. He posted seven top-20 finishes in AJGA events, including a tie for fourth at the Scott Stallings Championship last summer. He was the youngest player to qualify for the Southern California Golf Association Amateur (SCGA) this year and has a 73.4 scoring average.
"We are excited to welcome Riley to the Saluki family today," Fetcho said. "He is very athletic and has great clubhead speed, so we believe he has a great foundation to come here and make an immediate impact on our program. He has tremendous upside and his best golf is still in front of him."
Magnusson, a native of Hafnarfjordur, Iceland, will transfer from Bethany College (Kan.) where he won the 2018 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) individual championship. This fall, he averaged 72.09 strokes and made four top-10 finishes for Bethany. In Iceland, he was member of the Under-18 National Team and was ranked as the No. 3 player in Iceland. He is ranked No. 486 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), which is the best world ranking of any Saluki player on signing day in program history
"We are excited that Birgir has chosen to join our program and achieve both his academic and athletic goals at SIU," Fetcho said. "He is 6-foot-5 and another very good athlete with great clubhead speed. Birgir has collegiate experience and success at the NAIA level, and we look forward to him making an immediate impact for us."
The Salukis recently completed a successful fall season in which they won a tournament hosted by Indiana and competed in some of golf's most prestigious events, including tournaments hosted by Iowa, Northwestern, Notre Dame and Hawaii. The signing class will help offset the loss next year of three seniors — Peyton Wilhoit, Luke Gannon and Hunter York — who have made a major impact on the program's recent rise to national prominence.
"Riley and Birgir were exactly what we are looking for to continue our strong academic and athletic culture here," Fetcho said. "They have the gift of a strong swing speed, which is something you can't teach, and we will look to continue working on that strength, but also focus on improving their inefficiencies so that they can reach their goals. They will both be great students in the classroom and are two people that Saluki Nation will be proud to have associated with our program."
Players Mentioned
Saluki Radio Baseball Broadcast - Game 1 at Bradley (Audio Only)
Friday, April 17
4.16.26 | Saluki Softball Weekend Preview - UNI
Friday, April 17
4.16.26 | Saluki Baseball Weekend Preview - at Bradley
Thursday, April 16
Saluki Radio Baseball Broadcast - At UE Game Three (Audio Only)
Sunday, April 12