Veteran leaders swing into fall season
September 3, 2008
SIU men’s golf coach Leroy Newton said the return of an experienced squad could take the program to new heights.
Juniors Jordan Cox and Blake Driskell, along with seniors Phillip Collier, John Danielson and Todd Obergoenner return from last year’s team, which finished second at the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in Pleasant Valley, Iowa, last season.
Obergoenner, who might be the most decorated of SIU’s returners, said he and his teammates spent the offseason competing in tournaments. The experience could help the team earn a better finish, he said.
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“Everyone’s been playing a lot and everyone’s playing well, so it’s looking good for us,” Obergoenner said. “Any time you can play, you can gain valuable experience and it helps you greatly.”
Obergoenner was selected to the All-MVC second team after the Salukis’ run in the MVC Tournament in May. He also fired the third-best 18-hole score in the program’s history with 5-under-par-67 at the Arkansas State University Indian Classic on April 8, which helped him earn that week’s MVC Men’s Golfer of the Week.
Obergoenner, who had five top-10 finishes last season, also made headlines in the classroom. In June, he was selected to ESPN The Magazine’s Academic All-America Third Team, thanks in part to his 4.0 grade point average in university studies.
Obergoenner and Driskell will both serve as captains and team leaders for the Salukis, who posted four second place finishes in the 2007-08 season, but will be aided by a pair of newcomers.
Freshman Luke Daily and junior Patrick Scheil round out the roster, but are expected to make contributions to the team this season.
Scheil is a transfer student from John A. Logan College in Carterville and will be reunited with Collier, a former teammate at Logan. Scheil compiled an average score of 71 last season with the Volunteers and was a medalist winner in a pair of tournaments during Logan’s fall season.
Newton said Daily could be the player to put SIU closer to a conference championship.
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“He could come in and shoot a 69 or 70 as a freshman,” Newton said. “Luke could possibly be the hidden ingredient.”
Daily, who is expected to perform immediately, helped lead St. Mary’s High School in Paducah, Ky., to back-to-back Region I State Championships during his sophomore and junior years. Daily also placed second at the Paducah Tilghman Invitational and took third place at the Kentucky Invitational Tournament.
Daily said his teammates have helped him make the transition from high school to college.
“The guys are all older than me and have been through it so they’ve been able to take me under their wing and show me the ropes,” Daily said. “(Driskell) and (Obergoenner) have been able to reassure me that I can balance my schoolwork and golf.”
Luis C. Medina can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 269 or [email protected].
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