Southern Illinois University
University of Iowa
Men's Golf finishes fall with a top-three finish in Iowa
10/17/2022 | 5:10:00 | Men's Golf
The Southern Illinois Men's Golf team finished the fall season with a third-place finish Monday at the Iowa Fall Classic in Riverside, Iowa.Â
The Salukis went 304-304 on Sunday in the first two rounds before bouncing back and firing a 298, one of the few team rounds under 300, to cement their spot in third place. Host Iowa won the event with a 294-302-288 to bookend the tournament with solid rounds for a total of 884. Missouri Valley Conference foe Valparaiso took second with a total score of 890.Â
Head Coach Justin Fetcho said he knows his guys expected more in the final tournament of the fall.Â
"As a group, we are disappointed with a third-place finish but I think that just shows the mentality of the group," he said. "We were not mentally tough enough during the first day and it set us back in the standings. We tried to play with much more of a gritty mindset today and for the most part I think we achieved that attitude."
After two players in the top-10 after 36 holes, the Salukis delivered four in the top-20 after the final round, including a top-10 performance from senior Tom Cleaton. Cleaton went 75-75-73 to capture his first top-10 of the fall. Â
"I was impressed with Tom this week," Fetcho said. "It will be a very good feeling for him to take a Top-10 finish into the offseason. Tom grinded very hard today and was a scorer. Sometimes, like all of us, he forgets that piece of the equation and is focused on how good it looks then the number at the end of the day. Today it was all about scoring and I was impressed with him leading the charge in some tough conditions during the final round."
Sophomore Braden Hoisington finished T11 as he went 75-76-75. Junior Hugo Archer finished just behind Hoisington in 13th after he shot 77-72-79.Â
"Braden and Hugo continue to be players we can rely on week in and week out," Fetcho said. "It doesn't matter what golf course or what conditions, they have been key team players for us all fall. Anytime you can be a top-20 machine, it shows that you are very consistent and we can count on you wherever we travel and compete."
Sophomore Carsen Silliman finished T20 with a 77-84-74, senior Markus Wilhelmsen finished T36 with a 81-82-86 and junior Peyton Thevenot finished T40 with a 77-81-83.Â
Southern now looks to the offseason as they prepare for a run at repeating as Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Champions.Â
Fetcho said it's all about figuring out what they need to do.Â
"The goal for the offseason will be that changing of the mentality," he said. "We are wrapped up in how our games look right now and we have to change that to how can we score well. We will work hard on our mentality this off-season and it will be a strong focal point for us. Each guy has something different they need to do in their own physical game to improve but each guy needs to sharpen up mentally as well. This offseason will be a good challenge for this group and I look forward to seeing our improvements come spring."
The Salukis open the spring portion of their schedule, Feb. 26-28 when they take compete in the Loyola (Maryland) Intercollegiate in Goodyear, Arizona.Â
Team Leaderboard
1. Iowa 294 302 288 8842. Valparaiso 287 308 295 890
3. Southern Illinois 304 304 298 906
4. DePaul 301 310 302 913
5. South Dakota State 302 309 303 914
6. Northern Iowa 300 307 314 921
7. Drake 309 307 318 934
8. Western Illinois 317 323 319 959
9. Green Bay 313 326 325 864
Individual Leaderboard
1. Mac McClear (Iowa) 70 72 72 2142. Yianna Kostouros (Valpo) 69 75 73 217Â
3. Ty Kretz (SD State) 71 77 70 218
T4. Ronan Kleu (Iowa) 73 74 73 220
T4. Garrett Tighe (Iowa) 76 76 68 220
T4. *Callum Macfie (Iowa) 68 78 74 220
Southern Illinois
10 Tom Cleaton               75 75 73 223Â
T11 Braden Hoisington    75 76 75 226Â
13 Hugo Archer                 77 72 79 228Â
T20 Carsen Silliman        77 81 74 232Â
T36 Markus Wilhelmsen   81 82 76 239
T40 Peyton Thevenot        77 81 83 241
*: IndividualÂ
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Players Mentioned
