Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Men's Golf picked to finish second at MVC Championship
04/19/2019 | 10:00:00 | Men's Golf
The Southern Illinois men's golf team was picked to finish in second place at next week's MVC Championship in a vote of league coaches announced on Friday. Illinois State was the  unanimous choice to win the tournament, which takes place at the The Club at Porto Cima in Sunrise Beach, Mo. on Monday and Tuesday.
Teams will play 36 holes on Monday at the par-72, 7,060-yard course, with a shotgun start beginning at 8:30 a.m. The final round on Tuesday will begin with tee times at 8:00 am.
The Salukis are ranked No. 126 in the nation, feature the conference's No. 3-ranked golfer in Peyton Wilhoit and have steadily improved throughout the spring season, shooting under par in three-straight tournaments. Luke Gannon (5th), Matthis Besard (7th) and Hunter York (10th) are also ranked in the top 10 in the MVC.
"If you look back to our championship season in 2016, Wichita State was the unanimous favorite to win and was hosting, and we didn't let that faze us," said SIU head coach Justin Fetcho. "We went out there and did our part. We have to stay patient, stay true to ourselves. We can't force the issue and think that we have to make 20 birdies in the first 10 holes. We have to be true to who we are."
Illinois State enters the MVC Championship as the league's highest rated team (72 nationally in GolfStat and 77 in Golfweek). Â The Redbirds claimed two team titles throughout the 2018-19 campaign, including the prestigious Purdue Boilermaker Invitational earlier this week. Notably, the coaches pre-championship poll fell right in line with the GolfStat Team Rankings, as Southern Illinois (2nd) and Missouri State (3rd) follow Illinois State. Â The Salukis (126) and Bears (143) both are in the Top 150 in those national rankings.
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Teams will play 36 holes on Monday at the par-72, 7,060-yard course, with a shotgun start beginning at 8:30 a.m. The final round on Tuesday will begin with tee times at 8:00 am.
| Â Â Team | Â Points |
| Â Illinois State (9) | Â 81 |
| Â Southern Illinois | Â 72 |
| Â Missouri State | Â 60 |
| Â Bradley | Â 56 |
| Â Drake | Â 43 |
| Â Loyola | Â 30 |
| Â Valparaiso | Â 28 |
| Â Evansville | Â 22 |
| Â UNI | Â 13 |
The Salukis are ranked No. 126 in the nation, feature the conference's No. 3-ranked golfer in Peyton Wilhoit and have steadily improved throughout the spring season, shooting under par in three-straight tournaments. Luke Gannon (5th), Matthis Besard (7th) and Hunter York (10th) are also ranked in the top 10 in the MVC.
"If you look back to our championship season in 2016, Wichita State was the unanimous favorite to win and was hosting, and we didn't let that faze us," said SIU head coach Justin Fetcho. "We went out there and did our part. We have to stay patient, stay true to ourselves. We can't force the issue and think that we have to make 20 birdies in the first 10 holes. We have to be true to who we are."
Illinois State enters the MVC Championship as the league's highest rated team (72 nationally in GolfStat and 77 in Golfweek). Â The Redbirds claimed two team titles throughout the 2018-19 campaign, including the prestigious Purdue Boilermaker Invitational earlier this week. Notably, the coaches pre-championship poll fell right in line with the GolfStat Team Rankings, as Southern Illinois (2nd) and Missouri State (3rd) follow Illinois State. Â The Salukis (126) and Bears (143) both are in the Top 150 in those national rankings.
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|   2018-19 Stroke Average Leaders |  Tourn. |  Rounds |  Average |  Low |  Wins |
| Â Trent Wallace, Sr., Illinois State | Â 12 | Â 33.0 | Â 71.61 | Â 67 | Â Â 1 |
| Â David Perkins, Jr., Illinois State | Â 11 | Â 30.0 | Â 71.63 | Â 65 | Â Â 0 |
| Â Peyton Wilhoit, Sr., Southern Illinois | Â 11 | Â 31.0 | Â 71.84 | Â 66 | Â Â 0 |
| Â Brad Carpenter, Sr., Missouri State | Â 10 | Â 29.0 | Â 71.93 | Â 68 | Â Â 0 |
| Â Luke Gannon, Sr., Southern Illinois | Â 11 | Â 31.0 | Â 72.05 | Â 67 | Â Â 0 |
| Â Joel Durnford, Jr., Illinois State | Â 12 | Â 33.0 | Â 72.36 | Â 67 | Â Â 2 |
| Â Matthis Besard, Fr., Southern Illinois | Â 11 | Â 31.0 | Â 72.39 | Â 66 | Â Â 1 |
| Â Charles Jahn, Jr., Bradley | Â Â 9 | Â 24.0 | Â 73.13 | Â 68 | Â Â 0 |
| Â Drake Bushong, Sr., Bradley | Â Â 9 | Â 24.0 | Â 73.29 | Â 67 | Â Â 0 |
| Â Hunter York, Sr., Southern Illinois | Â Â 7 | Â 19.0 | Â 73.37 | Â 65 | Â Â 0 |
| Â Jack Knoesel, Sr., Missouri State | Â 10 | Â 29.0 | Â 73.38 | Â 67 | Â Â 0 |
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