SIUC’s men’s golf coach Gene Shaneyfelt said he brought a young line up with him to compete in the 7th Annual University of Texas-Pan American Intercollegiate Golf Classic in McAllen, Texas, Oct. 23-24 to give different golfers the opportunity to play.

This squad led the Dawgs to a seventh place finish, shooting a 938. Texas Christian University defeated nine other schools to win the tournament.

The older players hadn’t been playing that well, he said. So I thought I’d give the younger kids an opportunity and see what they could do.

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Freshman Chris Miller shot a score of 238 in the first 54 holes of his career for SIUC. Miller recovered from a first-round total of 83 to end competition with scores in the 70s.

Miller said nerves contributed to his high score at the end of the first 18 holes, but he became more comfortable as the tournament progressed.

This was my first trip, he said. I was excited. I really wasn’t nervous until I got up on the first tee.

Shaneyfelt said Miller has the potential to be a good golfer and he was pleased with Miller’s performance in the competition.

Give Chris another year or two and he’ll be a good player, he said. Just give him some time and experience.

Teammate Greg Goodwin said Miller came through for the team, despite his lack of tournament experience.

He came through and played respectable in the last two rounds.

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Goodwin, a SIUC sophomore, finished 27th in a 55-man field. He scored in the 70s in all three rounds of the tournament. Goodwin said he did not perform up to his expectations.

I was expecting to shoot a little lower than I did, but it was respectable, he said. I played well, but not everything clicked all at once.

Players feel Shaneyfelt’s decision to take a younger squad will benefit the Salukis in the future.

It was a good idea we brought some new guys, freshman Todd Eaker said. It will help them in the long term. They’ll get some experience.

Eaker ended play with a 236, good for 40th place.

The Dawgs travel to Fort Worth, Texas, Nov. 12-14 for the 2nd Annual Sports Technologies Invitational.

Miller said he hopes to use the experience gained at the Intercollegiate Golf Tournament to improve his play on the course and lower his scores.

It got my first tournament out of the way so, I don’t have to worry about nerves, he said. I can concentrate on my score a lot more.