Tuesday, October 31
Kapolei, HI
Southern Illinois University
vs
Kapolei Invitational
SIU Closes Out Fall With Inaugural Kapolei Invitational
10/30/2023 | 9:07:00 | Men's Golf
HONOLULU, HI– Southern Illinois wraps up the fall portion of its schedule starting tomorrow in Hawaii for the inaugural Kapolei Invitational hosted by the University of Hawaii. Salukis are coming off a strong showing in the Bahamas last week, finishing fourth as a team and Dain Richie being named Missouri Valley Conference Golfer of the Week.
"We have another great experience in front of us this week in Hawaii," said SIU head coach Justin Fetcho. "I can't imagine there is another team in the entire country that gets to play back to back tournaments to end their fall season like we have with the Bahamas and Hawaii. However, we understand while these are definitely great experiences, we are also here to do a job."
Kapolei Golf Club, an 18-hole daily-fee club in Kapolei, Hawaii on the island of Oahu. Colorful floral gardens, waterfalls and five lakes deliver a striking contrast to the course's lush fairways and greens. Kapolei is consistently one of the Top 10 "Courses You Can Play in Hawaii" by Golfweek magazine.
"We've had a good last few days of prep work for the event. We believe that unless there are some outside influences like wind or rain that this golf course is going to present a lot of birdie opportunities. We just have to continue to be sharp with our scoring clubs and mentally just allow ourselves to play golf and not get wrapped up in the actual score."
Dain Richie posted top-11 individual finishes to help lead Southern Illinois to a fourth-place finish in the White Sands Bahamas NCAA Invitational at the Ocean Club Golf Course on Paradise Island, Bahamas. Richie posts back-to-back second and third-round scores of 68 to finish in the top 10 of the individual leaderboard as he tied for ninth overall with a 206. Richie's second round was highlighted with the first eagle of the weekend for SIU on 602 par 5 on the second hole. His final round was spearheaded with seven birdies.
""Dain is learning and growing in his golf game every day. He had a solid week last time out and we look for him to continue that momentum this week. He already has a very competitive mindset and attitude which we love. Dain is the guy you want on your side coming down the back nine of every single golf tournament because he embraces those moments."
Seven Salukis in total will be battling this week. Joining Richie will be Andrew Thornton, Leon Heitz, Edouard Cereto, Andrew Watson, Frank Bellino and Oliver Ulrich.
"We need a total team effort this week to be successful and we have some players that are playing some pretty good golf right now," said Fetcho. "We just have to keep believing in the work we are putting in and that we can perform at a high level. If we can keep the confidence and belief in ourselves and only focus on the things we can control, then I really believe you will see the Salukis have a successful week."
Tournament Facts
Date: Oct. 31-Nov. 2, 2023
Format: Three-days; 54 holes (18 holes each day); 5-count-4
Time: 8:00 a.m. HT tee times off 1 & 10 each day
Course: Kapolei Golf Club
Location: Kapolei, O'ahu
Yardage (Par): 7,001 yards (72)
Live Scoring: www.GolfStat.com
Participating Teams (19):
Army
Augusta
Baylor
Brigham Young
Cal Baptist
Eastern Kentucky
Florida Gulf Coast
Grand Canyon
Hawai'i
Loyola Marymount
Miami (Ohio)
Mississippi State
Sam Houston
Southern Illinois
Texas State
UC Irvine
UC Riverside
UC San Diego
Utah Valley
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).
"We have another great experience in front of us this week in Hawaii," said SIU head coach Justin Fetcho. "I can't imagine there is another team in the entire country that gets to play back to back tournaments to end their fall season like we have with the Bahamas and Hawaii. However, we understand while these are definitely great experiences, we are also here to do a job."
Kapolei Golf Club, an 18-hole daily-fee club in Kapolei, Hawaii on the island of Oahu. Colorful floral gardens, waterfalls and five lakes deliver a striking contrast to the course's lush fairways and greens. Kapolei is consistently one of the Top 10 "Courses You Can Play in Hawaii" by Golfweek magazine.
"We've had a good last few days of prep work for the event. We believe that unless there are some outside influences like wind or rain that this golf course is going to present a lot of birdie opportunities. We just have to continue to be sharp with our scoring clubs and mentally just allow ourselves to play golf and not get wrapped up in the actual score."
Dain Richie posted top-11 individual finishes to help lead Southern Illinois to a fourth-place finish in the White Sands Bahamas NCAA Invitational at the Ocean Club Golf Course on Paradise Island, Bahamas. Richie posts back-to-back second and third-round scores of 68 to finish in the top 10 of the individual leaderboard as he tied for ninth overall with a 206. Richie's second round was highlighted with the first eagle of the weekend for SIU on 602 par 5 on the second hole. His final round was spearheaded with seven birdies.
""Dain is learning and growing in his golf game every day. He had a solid week last time out and we look for him to continue that momentum this week. He already has a very competitive mindset and attitude which we love. Dain is the guy you want on your side coming down the back nine of every single golf tournament because he embraces those moments."
Seven Salukis in total will be battling this week. Joining Richie will be Andrew Thornton, Leon Heitz, Edouard Cereto, Andrew Watson, Frank Bellino and Oliver Ulrich.
"We need a total team effort this week to be successful and we have some players that are playing some pretty good golf right now," said Fetcho. "We just have to keep believing in the work we are putting in and that we can perform at a high level. If we can keep the confidence and belief in ourselves and only focus on the things we can control, then I really believe you will see the Salukis have a successful week."
Tournament Facts
Date: Oct. 31-Nov. 2, 2023
Format: Three-days; 54 holes (18 holes each day); 5-count-4
Time: 8:00 a.m. HT tee times off 1 & 10 each day
Course: Kapolei Golf Club
Location: Kapolei, O'ahu
Yardage (Par): 7,001 yards (72)
Live Scoring: www.GolfStat.com
Participating Teams (19):
Army
Augusta
Baylor
Brigham Young
Cal Baptist
Eastern Kentucky
Florida Gulf Coast
Grand Canyon
Hawai'i
Loyola Marymount
Miami (Ohio)
Mississippi State
Sam Houston
Southern Illinois
Texas State
UC Irvine
UC Riverside
UC San Diego
Utah Valley
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
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