MANHATTAN, Kan. – Anthony De Schutter became the 24th Southern Illinois men’s golfer to win a tournament with his four-under par performance at the Wildcat Invitational Tuesday in Manhattan, Kan. The win was Southern’s first since Edouard Cereto accomplished the feat at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships in 2024.
Head Coach Justin Fetcho credited De Schutter’s performance to his winning mindset heading into the week.
“He said his goal this week before he started was to be the most disciplined he has ever been on a golf course, and I think he did an amazing job of staying patient, picking great targets and just allowing himself to play freely,” Fetcho said. “To do all of those things is pretty special, but to top it off with a win is just icing on the cake.”
De Schutter’s consistency allowed him to rise to the top, finishing eighth, fifth and fourth in each round, respectively. Fetcho believes his drive to finish atop the leaderboard is what fueled his drive to return for a fifth year in collegiate golf.
“I truly believe this is one of the reasons that Anthony decided to come back for his 5th year, he wanted to continue to develop and get better, but deep down he wanted to win a collegiate event,” Fetcho said. “What a way to kick start the season, and I know this will just continue to give him more confidence when he finds himself in contention again.”
Redshirt Junior Ben Keil showed promise in his first collegiate action in over a year after transferring from the University of Indianapolis in 2024. The LaGrange, Ind., native kept pace with De Schutter through rounds one and two before falling slightly behind on day three.
“Ben had a tough finish today to his round, and I know that left a very sour taste in his mouth,” Fetcho said. “However, he did so many things well this week that there is so much to take away from his first collegiate event back in over a year.”
As a team, Southern Illinois’ third-place finish is not only a good standing in itself, but is most importantly the highest finish of four other Valley teams in the tournament. The Salukis were well within striking distance of team champion and host school, Kansas State.
“To lose by 6 strokes to a good program on their home golf course is a testament to the talent we have on our roster,” Fetcho said. “There are a lot of positives to take away from the week, but we also know that we have a lot of work to do to clean up some of the sloppiness to get ready for our next event.”
Here is how the Saluki golfers fared:
Fetcho is confident in his 2025-26 squad and plans to use this strong start to the year as momentum going forward.
“We have a great group of hard workers, and I know we will get back to work and start focusing on how to see improvements in our next event,” Fetcho said. This event definitely provided some building blocks for us as we move forward.”
See a full tournament breakdown here.
UP NEXT
The Salukis will head to the Badger Invitational for its next tournament on Sept. 22, in Madison, Wis.
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