SIU men’s golf finished in sixth place out of 13 teams at the rain-shortened David Toms Intercollegiate tournament in Baton Rouge, Louisiana over the weekend.

The Salukis returned to Louisiana State University in search of redemption from last season’s 13th place finish in a 14-team field at the David Toms Intercollegiate tournament.

Two Saluki golfers – juniors Luke Gannon and Peyton Wilhoit – returned to Baton Rouge with experience at The University Club golf course after competing in the tourney a season ago.

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In 2016, Wilhoit and Gannon were the Salukis top two finishers, respectively.

This weekend it was Wilhoit once again taking the top score for SIU, posting a  2-under-par 142 through 36 holes.

The final round of the tournament was unable to be completed due to heavy rain in the area from Hurricane Nate.

Round 1 (Oct. 6)

Wilhoit sank four birdies in the first round to finish at even par with a score of 72. The junior’s opening round of play resulted in the best individual score for the Salukis on day one.

Behind Wilhoit was junior Hunter York shooting a 3-over-par 75 with three birdies of his own.

Senior Dirk Kuehler completed his first round with a 5-over-par 77. Finishing out the scorecard was Gannon and sophomore Sam Meek with scores of 78 and 79, respectively.

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The Salukis finished the first round with a combined team score of 302, earning them fifth-place in the standings heading into the second round.

Round 2 (Oct. 7)

The lowest carded score of the tournament belonged to Wilhoit with a score of 2-under-par 70. The junior needed only two birdies in the round to achieve the impressive line.

York and Kuehler were both five strokes behind Wilhoit but posted the next-best Saluki scores in the second round. Each golfer shot a 3-over-par 75 – a two-stroke improvement for Kuehler.

Gannon finished his second round with a 4-over-par 76 – two strokes better than the previous day.

Completing the SIU scorecard was Meek with a score of 81.

After a team score of 296 in round 2, the Salukis finished sixth of 13 teams with a two-round score of 598.

Final Standings

With a 2-under-par 142 score, Peyton Wilhoit finished tied for fifth overall in the individual golfer standings – a new career best for the junior.

Hunter York tied for the 22nd spot on the leaderboard with a score of 6-over-par 150.

No. 6 LSU, the host team, won the tournament with an impressive team score of 11-under-par 565.

The Tigers had two golfers – freshman Jacob Bergeron and junior Luis Gagne – finish in a three-way tie for first place. LSU also saw four golfers finish in the top-10, and all five golfers in the top-15.

Up Next

SIU travels to Kennesaw, Georgia to compete in the Pinetree Intercollegiate. The event – hosted by Kennesaw State University – takes place on Oct. 23 and 24 and serves as the men’s final match of the fall schedule.

Sports reporter Nathan Dodd can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @NathanMDodd.

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