In a field of 14 teams at the Seminole Intercollegiate in Tallahassee, Florida, the SIU men’s golf team finished the three-day tournament in eighth place.

“We played a lot of really good golf,” coach Justin Fetcho said. “We just had some mental lapses at the beginning of the tournament and at the end of the tournament.”

Tournament-host Florida State — ranked No. 20 nationally — won the event with a combined team score of 1-under-par 844.

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The Salukis finished 36 strokes behind the Seminoles and combined for a team score of 16-over-par 880.

“It is just tough to spot good teams 15 shots in nine holes and expect to beat them,” Fetcho said.

Junior Peyton Wilhoit led the Salukis with a 1-under-par score for the tournament and placed in a tie for 15th. He posted scores of 73, 68 and 74 and finished with nine of SIU’s 31 birdies.

Wilhoit also was only seven strokes behind tournament-winner John Pak of Florida State. The FSU freshman is ranked No. 41 nationally.

Junior Luke Gannon tied for 32nd in the tournament with a 4-over-par 220. Behind Gannon, in a tie for 41st, was senior Dirk Kuehler with an 8-over-par 224.

Rounding out the Saluki scorecard was junior Hunter York, sophomore Frankie Thomas and junior Dean Harpe, who competed as an individual. The three Salukis recorded scores of 229, 232 and 233, respectively.

Kuehler and Harpe each posted eight birdies in the competition.

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“I thought we did a lot of really good things,” Fetcho said. “We just have to clean up a few smaller things to keep getting better.”

The Salukis will return home to prepare for their next event at the South Florida Invitational in Tampa, Florida. The tournament is scheduled for March 12-13.

“That’s how you learn and get better; by competing,” Fetcho said. “We now have two weeks to go home and sharpen up some things to get ready for our next one.”

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

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