Men's Golf wins William & Mary Intercollegiate

Tuesday, March 27

Williamsburg, VA

All Day

Southern Illinois University

Kingsmill Intercollegiate

03/27/2018 | 4:39:00 | Men's Golf

Complete Results

Peyton Wilhoit rallies to win his second tournament title of the season.

By: By Kari Johnston, SIUSalukis.com

The Southern Illinois University men's golf team won its second tournament championship of the season, taking first place in the 24-team William & Mary Intercollegiate on Tuesday.

SIU junior Peyton Wilhoit (-2) won his second individual title of the season by staging a stunning comeback in the second and third rounds. After one round, Wilhoit was +4 and tied for 21st place. He vaulted into third place with a -2 score in the second round and then matched his career-low with a -4 score of 66 in the final round.

"Peyton came out in rounds two and three and made birdies and played his game," said SIU head coach Justin Fetcho. "This was a huge field with 120-plus golfers, but it doesn't matter what course, what conditions, he's proven he can compete with anybody. He's not afraid of anybody. He's finished in the top 15 in six-straight tournaments. He's one of best players in all of college golf, including the Power Five."

Wilhoit was the only golfer to shoot under par for the tournament and he beat second-place finishers Brent Morgan of St. Bonaventure's and Brendan Peel of Loyola (Md.) by three strokes.

Southern moved up the team standings each day, starting at third place after one round (293) and then posting the tournament's top two rounds with a 284 on Monday, followed by a 285 today. SIU beat second-place Utah Valley by four strokes.

"To step up and shoot the best round of the day under these conditions, where we had a frost delay and temperatures were cold, that shows how mentally tough this team is," Fetcho said. "We talked about when you have a bad hole or two bad holes, don't let it run to four or five holes in a row making bogeys. I told them I was most proud of the way they minimized damage today, and winning the tournament was icing on the cake."

Also finishing in the top 10 for the Salukis was Hunter York (+5), who tied for seventh. He recorded his best individual finish at SIU and tied a personal best with a 69 in the final round.

"Hunter was up and down early and couldn't make some putts, but found a way to let that go, to keep fighting and grinding," Fetcho said. "He birdies the last four holes of the golf tournament. When your team needs you the most, to birdie the last four holes, that's a huge boost of confidence for him."

Earlier this season, the Salukis won a tournament at Kennesaw State. Under Fetcho, the program has won five titles in less than four years. The team has two more regular-season tournaments remaining. The Salukis play at Arkansas State (April 2-3) and Purdue (April 14-15), before hosting the Missouri Valley Conference Championships (April 23-24) in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

"I think we took a big step forward in seeing this team grow up," Fetcho remarked. "You want to be clicking on all cylinders come April. We've matured a lot this week, not just by winning a golf tournament, but being able to play through adversity. I couldn't be more proud of their effort."

TEAM SCORES
1. Southern Illinois 293 284 285 862 +22
2. Utah Valley 287 289 290 866 +26
3. Loyola MD 294 287 288 869 +29
4. Seton Hall 299 290 286 875 +35
5. Old Dominion 293 295 289 877 +37
6. Eastern Michigan 292 290 296 878 +38
7. Radford 306 288 285 879 +39
8. St. Bonaventure 298 296 294 888 +48
9. Saint Joseph's (PA) 296 296 298 890 +50
T10. Drexel 301 292 298 891 +51
T10. George Washington 301 296 294 891 +51
12. Appalachian St 296 302 296 894 +54
T13. Fort Wayne 304 298 293 895 +55
T13. Towson 301 295 299 895 +55
15. Delaware 304 298 296 898 +58
16. Longwood 309 299 295 903 +63
T17. Xavier 296 307 302 905 +65
T17. Air Force 306 299 300 905 +65
19. Fairleigh Dickinson 304 313 296 913 +73
20. Youngstown State 309 308 297 914 +74
21. William & Mary 308 307 306 921 +81
22. Binghamton 317 307 302 926 +86
23. Iona 311 312 306 929 +89
24. St. Francis-PA 313 312 308 933 +93

SIU SCORES
1. Peyton Wilhoit 74 68 66 208 -2
T7. Hunter York 71 75 69 215 +5
T19. Frankie Thomas 72 73 74 219 +9
T30. Luke Gannon 76 70 76 222 +12
T90. Dirk Kuehler 83 73 76 232 +22