PADUCAH, Ky. — The Southern Illinois men’s golf team took first in a wire-to-wire victory at the Missouri Valley Conference championship for their third title in program history. SIU fired rounds of 295, 285, and 294 for a total 54 hole score of 874 (+10) over three-days at the par-72, 7,014 yard Country Club of Paducah in Paducah, Kentucky. The 17-stroke lead is the largest margin of victory for an MVC champ since 2015. The Salukis automatically advance to the 2022 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship and will represent the conference in the NCAA Regionals, May 15-18.

Matthis Besard carded rounds of 71, 74, and 69 to finish second at two under par, one of only two players to break par over the 54-hole event. Besard was named MVC Golfer of the Year, the second player in program history to earn the honor, and was voted onto the All-Conference team. He was a six-time winner of the league’s Golfer of the Week award and finished in the Top-3 in seven consecutive tournaments with four individual titles. Besard’s seven tournament wins are the most at SIU, he is the all-time leader in career rounds in the 60s, and he has the all-time low 54-hole score, 200 (-16).

All five Salukis finished in the Top-14 to help Southern Illinois to its third team title in the past six MVC Championships. Tom Cleaton tied for fourth with rounds of 75, 69, and 75 to finish 3-over par with a total score of 219, earning him All-Conference honors. Markus Wilhelmsen shot 78, 70, and 73 to finish in seventh place. Birgir Magnusson finished at 8-over par with rounds of 74, 73, and 77 for a total of 224, tied for 10th place. Braden Hoisington tied for 14th with with marks of 75, 73, and 77 to finish at 9-over with a score of 225.

Saluki Athletics Director of Golf Danielle Kaufman was also voted the 2022 Coach of the Year by the league coaches, the third coach from SIU to earn the honor. Kaufman is a two-time winner of the award, her first was with the women’s golf team in 2019.

What’s Next
The Salukis are guaranteed a spot at one of six NCAA Regional tournament sites. Tune in to the NCAA Selection Show on Golf Channel on Wednesday, May 4 at 3:00 p.m. CT.

—

Golfer of the Year:  Matthis Besard, Southern Illinois
Coach of the Year: Danielle Kaufman, Southern Illinois
Newcomer of the Year: Anthony Delisanti, Valparaiso
Elite 17: Caleb VanArragon, Valparaiso
Medalist: Anthony Delisanti, Valparaiso

All-Conference
Matthis Besard, Southern Illinois
Tom Cleaton, Southern Illinois
Anthony Delisanti, Valparaiso
Joe Hodgson, Illinois State
Devin Johnson, Loyola
Max Kreikemeier, Missouri State
Tim Lim, Drake
Griffin Parker, UNI
Caleb VanArragon, Valparaiso
Felix van Dijk, Illinois State

Teams
1 Southern Illinois 295 85 294 = 874 (+10)
2 Valparaiso 300 297 294 = 891 (+27)
3 Illinois State 313 288 302 = 903 (+39)
4 Drake 298 303 307 = 908 (+44)
5 Missouri State 309 292 308 = 909 (+45)
6 Evansville 316 305 308 = 929 (+65)
7 Loyola 310 306 314 = 930 (+66)
8 Bradley 307 313 312 = 932 (+68)
9 Northern Iowa 321 304 308 = 933 (+69)

Southern Illinois
2 Matthis Besard 71 74 69 = 214 (-2)
T4 Tom Cleaton 75 69 75 = 219 (+3)
7 Markus Wilhelmsen 78 70 73 = 221 (+5)
T10 Birgir Magnusson 74 73 77 = 224 (+8)
T14 Braden Hoisington 75 73 77 = 225 (+9)