Southern Illinois senior Matthis Besard led the field of 84 golfers after the first day of play at the Zach Johnson Invitational and never looked back. Besard was dominate at the Glen Oaks Country Club, firing rounds of 66 and 68 in the opening two rounds in Des Moines, Iowa.
The 2021 MVC All-Conference Selection picked up where he left off in the final round, carding 69 to close out the tournament at 10-under par to claim the individual title. The tournament win is the third of Besard’s collegiate career and his total of 203 is the second lowest individual all-time 54-hole score in program history.
“I’m very proud of Matthis,” said SIU head coach Danielle Kaufman. “He is driven and works very hard everyday. The coaching staff couldn’t be more proud of him and his leadership to the team.”
The Salukis finished fifth overall with a total of 867 (+15). Drake, the tournament host, and North Dakota State shared the team title with a final score of 853 (+1) each.
Senior Birgir Magnusson was consistent throughout all three rounds (72-72-75) and picked up an eagle on the last day of play to finish at 219 (+6), tied for 23rd place. Sophomore Justin Wingerter improved each round (77-75-70) for a score of 222 (+9), tied for 35th place. Freshman Braden Hoisington carded 225 (+12) for 53rd place and senior Tom Cleaton rounded out the score for Southern Illinois with 232 (+19), tied for 76th.
WHAT’S NEXT
Southern Illinois travels back to Carbondale, Illinois in preparation for the Grover Page Classic, hosted by the University of Tennessee at Martin, on October 4th & 5th in Martin, Tennessee.
TEAMS
T1 Drake 291 279 283 = 853 (+1)
T1 North Dakota State 285 282 286 = 853 (+1)
3 Valparaiso 285 286 286 = 857 (+5)
4 Loyola-Chicago 284 285 295 = 864 (+12)
5 Southern Illinois 290 289 288 = 867 (+15)
6 HBU 294 278 298 = 870 (+18)
7 Eastern Kentucky 298 291 288 = 877 (+25)
8 Northern Iowa 292 296 292 = 880 (+28)
T9 St. Thomas 294 200 202 = 885 (+33)
T9 Butler 302 293 290 = 885 (+33)
11 DePaul 305 285 300 = 890 (+38)
12 Creighton 299 295 304 = 898 (+46)
13 IUPUI 300 305 295 = 900 (+48)
14 Western Illinois 307 294 303 = 904 (+52)
15 North Dakota 300 306 301 = 907 (+55)
SIU
1 Matthis Besard 66 68 69 = 203 (-10)
T23 Birgir Magnusson 72 72 75 = 219 (+6)
T35 Justin Wingerter 77 75 70 = 222 (+9)
53 Braden Hoisington 75 76 74 = 225 (+12)
T76 Tom Cleaton 80 74 78 = 232 (+19)