Carbondale Reporter

Southern Illinois Men's Golf team concluded the Hal Williams Collegiate tournament in Mobile, Alabama, with a seventh-place finish among 13 teams. The Salukis achieved a score of 843 (-9), trailing 16 strokes behind the winning team, SMU.

Head coach Justin Fetcho expressed his views on the team's performance: "We are striving for more but overall, a solid week, we are learning and growing, and I think this week was a big step forward for us," he stated. He highlighted that the team made the fewest bogeys in the field, which had been a focus area for improvement.

Anthony De Schutter delivered an impressive performance by tying for third place with a score of 204 (-9). De Schutter excelled in all three rounds, particularly shining in round two with a score of 65 (-6), marking one of the best scores in school history. Coach Fetcho praised De Schutter's achievement: "A great performance by Anthony this week, he didn't make a single bogey on par 4 or 5 this week which is a tremendous accomplishment."

Lucas Lasley also contributed significantly to the team's efforts by tying for 28th place with a score of 212 (-1). Lasley maintained under-par scores in rounds one and two before finishing round three at +3.

The rest of the Salukis' results were as follows:

- Leon Heitz tied for 44th (+2, 215)

- Carsen Silliman tied for 58th (+5, 218)

- Oliver Ulrich tied for 61st (+6, 219)

Fetcho remains optimistic about future tournaments: "We will look to build off this and keep growing as we head to our next event."

The Salukis aim to leverage their strong start when they compete at the Lake Las Vegas Invitational in Henderson, Nevada on February 24.

For updates on Southern Illinois Men's Golf, fans can follow them on social media platforms X (@SIU_MGolf), Instagram (@SIU_MGolf), and Facebook (SalukiMGolf).