For the second time in school history, Southern Illinois is the Missouri Valley Conference men's golf champion. The Salukis' four counting scores on Tuesday fired a 12-under on the back nine to capture a 10-stroke victory over second-place Illinois State. The MVC Men's Golf Championship was played at the par-72, 7,060-yard layout at the The Club at Porto Cima in Sunrise Beach, Mo..
FINAL DAY (TUESDAY) RECAP -- Southern Illinois will represent the MVC in the NCAA Regionals (selections are next week) after firing a 291-287-281=859 to outdistance pre-championship favorite Illinois State (285-292-292=869). Missouri State was 15 strokes behind Illinois State at 884, followed by Bradley (894), Valparaiso (902), UNI (918), Drake (921), Loyola (922) and Evansville (937). Illinois State, with its second-place finish, earned a top four finish at the league championship for the fourth-straight year. Southern Illinois, meanwhile, won its only other league title in 2016.
The championship featured a playoff for medalist honors as David Rauer of Illinois State scored a four on the first playoff hole (hole 18) to earn the win. Missouri State's Kory Franks carded a five on the hole. Both individuals shot identical scores of 212 (four under par) to tie after 54 holes. Following the completion of the round, however, there was a one-hour, 35-minute delay after a lightning strike in the area. After the delay, the two battled out the sudden-death tiebreaker in a downpour. Rauer's victory assures him of a spot in the NCAA Regionals (as league medalist). Two others also scored under par for the championship, including Peyton Wilhoit (213) of Southern Illinois and Brad Carpenter of Missouri State (214). Matthis Besard and Luke Gannon (both of Southern Illinois) fired an even-par 216 to tie for fifth in the individual standings.
The league's all-conference team was announced following Tuesday's round. ISU coach Ray Kralis was named Coach of the Year by his peers, earning the honor for the second time in his career (2007). ISU's Trent Wallace was named Golfer of the Year (also a vote by head coaches). He is the second ISU player to earn the honor. Wallace is a three-time all-MVC honoree and two-time meadlist (2016, 2017). Besard, meanwhile, was voted Newcomer of the Year, becoming the second Saluki to earn that award. The league's Elite 17 Award was Carpenter. That award is given to the individual who places among the Top 18 finishers, has a minimum of three semesters completed and holds the highest GPA among those top 18 finishers. Carpenter has a 3.836 GPA in finance at Missouri State. Notably, Wilhoit and Bradley's Drake Bushong became the 7th and 8th individuals in league history to earn all-conference in men's golf for four-straight years (since records were maintained in 1973).
GOLFER OF THE YEAR: Trent Wallace, Illinois State
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Matthis Besard, Southern Illinois
COACH OF THE YEAR: Ray Kralis, Illinois State
ELITE 17 RECIPIENT: Brad Carpenter, Missouri State
ALL-CONFERENCE
Peyton Wilhoit, Southern Illinois
Trent Wallace, Illinois State
Dave Perkins, Illinois State
Joel Durnford, Illinois State
Brad Carpenter, Missouri State
Drake Bushong, Bradley
Matthis Besard, Southern Illinois
Luke Gannon, Southern Illinois
Kory Franks, Missouri State
David Rauer, Illinois State
DAY ONE (MONDAY) RECAP -- Illinois State holds a one-stroke lead after 36 holes at the 2019 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Golf Championship. The Redbirds shot 285-292=577 and lead second-place Southern Illinois (291-287=578) and Missouri State (299-292=591) in the team standings. The second grouping of teams is tightly bunched as Bradley (603), Valparaiso (605) and Loyola (607) are within five strokes of one another. Drake (615), UNI (617) and Evansville (625) round out the nine-team field.
David Rauer of Illinois State is in the lead in the individual standings after shooting a 66-75=141 in the event's first 36 holes. Rauer's 66 in the first round was one stroke off the league championship record for 18 holes (65, established by Rod Nuckolls of Wichita State in 1979.) Southern Illinois and Missouri State have two players apiece in the Top 5 in the individual race. SIU's Matthis Besard fired a 75-67=142 while teammate Peyton Wilhoit is tied for fourth at 1-under 143 after shooting a steady 71-72. Missouri State was led by Kory Franks (72-70=142) and Brad Carpenter (73-70=143). Last year's medalist -- Drake Bushong of Bradley -- is in sixth place at 144, while two-time MVC Championship medalist Trent Wallace of Illinois State is seventh at 145.
Of current MVC schools, Drake and Illinois State have the most team titles, with five apiece. Illinois State last won the league championship in 2007, while Drake's last MVC championship win came in 1998. Other current league schools to have won an MVC men's golf championship include Bradley (2018), Missouri State (1993) and Southern Illinois (2016). In terms of individual medalist honors, Illinois State has the most of current MVC schools with five golfers taking home the top player award. Bradley and Drake have had four medalists, while Missouri State has had two. The other five current MVC schools have not had a medalist.
THE CLUB AT PORTO CIMA -- The Golf Club at Porto Cima is a Jack Nicklaus designed facility that opened in 2000. Over the last 18 years Porto Cima has hosted several Missouri Golf Association Championships, the annual Missouri Intercollegiate and the 2011 & 2015 Men’s MVC Championships. Recently Golf Digest recognized The Club at Porto Cima as the one of the best private golf courses in America.
PRE-CHAMPIONSHIP POLL
| Team |
Points |
| Illinois State (9) |
81 |
| Southern Illinois |
72 |
| Missouri State |
60 |
| Bradley |
56 |
| Drake |
43 |
| Loyola |
30 |
| Valparaiso |
28 |
| Evansville |
22 |
| UNI |
13 |
2019 PREVIEW -- Illinois State enters the MVC Championship as the league's highest rated team (72 nationally in GolfStat and 77 in Golfweek). The Redbirds claimed two team titles throughout the 2018-19 campaign, including the prestigious Purdue Boilermaker Invitational earlier this week. Bradley (2), Drake (1) and Southern Illinois (1) also earned a team championship at an event this season. Notably, the coaches pre-championship poll fell right in line with the GolfStat Team Rankings, as Southern Illinois (2nd) and Missouri State (3rd) follow Illinois State. The Salukis (126) and Bears (143) both are in the Top 150 in those national rankings. Of current MVC schools, Drake and Illinois State have the most team titles, with five apiece. Illinois State last won the league championship in 2007, while Drake's last MVC championship win came in 1998. Other current league schools to have won an MVC men's golf championship include Bradley (2018), Missouri State (1993) and Southern Illinois (2016).
The league's top rated individuals are from Illinois State. Trent Wallace is atop the MVC leaderboard, and he's followed by teammate David Perkins. Peyton Wilhoit of Southern Illinois (3rd), Brad Carpenter of Missouri State (4th) and Joel Durnford of Illinois State (5th) round out the top 5 in the GolfStat rankings. Wallace earned medalist honors at the league championship in both 2016 (at Hutchinson, Kan.) and 2017 (at Lemont, Ill.). The league has never had a three-time medalist at the conference event, although 12 have won it twice. Drake Bushong of Bradley won last year's medalist honor in leading the Braves to the team title.
2018 RECAP -- Bradley earned its first NCAA Men's Golf Championship trip for the first time since 1955 after winning the 2018 Missouri Valley Conference men's golf title with a three-round 298-289-296--883, outdistancing runner-up finisher Southern Illinois by 15 strokes on the par-72, 7,323-yard layout at Dalhousie Golf Club in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Before last year, the Braves had never earned an MVC title in men's golf, finishing as high as second place three times (most recently in 1986). Southern Illinois' second-place showing (307-299-292--898) marked the second time in the past three years the Salukis have finished first (2016) or second. Drake, meanwhile, carded the team low of the tournament Tuesday with a one-under-par 287 to finish third (304-310-287--901). The third-place finish by the Bulldogs is its best since 2006 (2nd that year). The team leaderboard was rounded out by a fourth-place tie from Illinois State and Missouri State (both teams shot a 905.) The Braves had the top three individual spots in the field, as Drake Bushong earned medalist honors with a three-round 76-69-72--217, followed by teammates Ethan Brue (220) and Michael Mounce (220) who tied for second. The top five was rounded out by Southern Illinois' Luke Gannon and Drake's Drew Ison who tied for fourth with three-round scores of 221. Ison was one of five student-athletes to break par during the championship as he fired a tourney-low 68 on Tuesday. The medalist honor marked the fourth all-time in Bradley history (first since 1986). And it also marked the first time since 2013 in which one team had the top-three spots in the field.