Southern Illinois University
MVC Championship
Men’s Golf Ready for 2022 MVC Championship
04/23/2022 | 6:00:00 | Men's Golf
What: 2022 MVC Men's Golf Championship
When: April 24-26, 2022
Format: 18 holes Sunday, 18 holes Monday, 18 holes Tuesday
Where: Country Club of Paducah; Paducah, Kentucky
Par / Yardage: 72 / 7,014
Participating Teams: Bradley, Drake, Evansville, Illinois State, Loyola, Missouri State, Southern Illinois, UNI, Valparaiso
PADUCAH, Ky. — The Southern Illinois men's golf team is ready for the 2022 Missouri Valley Conference Championship. The nine-team field will tee off Sunday, April 24th at the Country Club of Paducah in Paducah, Kentucky, a par 72 course that spans 7,014 yards. Teams will play 54 holes over three days. SIU ranks first in scoring average with a league-best 291.70. Southern Illinois was picked to finish fifth in the preseason poll, receiving 47 votes. SIU last won the conference championship in 2019.
The Salukis are led by senior Matthis Besard, graduate Birgir Magnusson, freshman Braden Hoisington, senior Tom Cleaton, and senior Markus Wilhelmsen. Sophomore Justin Wingerter will be available as a substitute if needed.
Matthis Besard is currently ranked No. 145 in NCAA Division I on Golfstat.com (as of April 19th) and enters the 2022 MVC Championship with a league-best stroke average of 70.20 through 30 rounds this year. He fired a season-best round of 64 (-8) at the Savannah Harbor Invitational, finishing first with a mark of 200 (-16) for the all-time low 54-hole score in Southern Illinois men's golf program history. His seven collegiate-career individual tournament wins are the most at SIU and he is the all-time leader in career rounds in the 60s at Southern Illinois. He finished in the Top-3 in seven consecutive starts with his four wins.
Meanwhile, Birgir Magnusson enters the 2022 MVC Championship with the league's ninth best stroke average, 73.73 through 26 rounds this season. He has had 24 rounds in the 70s and had his best tournament at the 2022 Shark Invitational, where he finished first overall earning him MVC Golfer of the Week honors.
Braden Hoisington currently has the 11th best stroke average in the conference, 74.08. Tom Cleaton had his season-low round of 69 came at the Craft Farms Intercollegiate where he tied for 17th, his best-finish of the spring. Markus Wilhelmsen has carded 16 rounds in the 70s this season with a 75.87 stroke average and Justin Wingerter enters the event with a 75.17 stroke average.
The Country Club of Paducah is a 18-hole course designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr., a British–American golf course architect who designed more than 500 courses across the globe. Jones philosophy was to make every hole a hard par, but an easy bogey. The course features zoysia fairways with greens framed by bunkers and water. The course rating is 73.9 with a slope rating of 136.
The championship will tee off at 9:30 a.m. CT on Sunday for the first round of 18 holes with all teams teeing off Hole 1. The weather forecast calls for overcast skies with a slight chance of a rain shower, a high of 81F, and south-southwest winds at 10 to 20 mph. Monday's second round is scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. CT with all teams off No. 1. Tuesday's final round will begin at 9:30 a.m. CT with split tees. The 54 hole tournament champion will advance to the NCAA Regionals set for May 15-18. For more information, visit 2022 Championship Central or follow along with live scoring on Golftsat.com.
Stay Social
For the latest on Southern Illinois Men's Golf, follow the team on Twitter (@SIU_MGolf), Instagram (@SIU_MGolf), and like the team's official Facebook page (SalukiMGolf).
Players Mentioned
