Southern Illinois is scheduled to compete at the Hawkeye Invitational hosted by the University of Iowa at Blue Top Ridge on April 20–21. The team aims to improve its performance following a 15th-place finish in its most recent event, as it seeks to regain consistency before the upcoming Missouri Valley Conference Championship.
The Hawkeye Invitational serves as the final test for Southern Illinois before the conference championship, which will be held April 26–28 at Annbriar Golf Course and hosted by Illinois State University. Fourteen schools are set to participate in this year’s tournament, including Iowa, Drake, Valparaiso, Western Illinois, Missouri State, UMKC, North Dakota State, Air Force, South Dakota State, Northern Iowa, South Dakota, DePaul, Omaha and Southern Illinois.
The event will take place over two days with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. Central Time each day. Monday’s play will consist of 36 holes and Tuesday’s round will conclude with 18 holes. This marks the first time Blue Top Ridge has hosted the tournament after previous editions were held at Finkbine Golf Course. The course measures 7,432 yards and was named Iowa’s top golf course in 2026 by IowaGolf.com. Designed by Rees Jones—who has created more than one hundred courses across the United States—the par-72 layout features multiple water hazards along the floodplain of the Iowa River.
The Southern Illinois Salukis Men’s Golf team has delivered competitive results in collegiate tournaments and conference championships according to the official website. Players have earned individual titles and weekly conference honors according to the official website. Competing as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference within Southern Illinois University according to the official website, this season’s roster includes nine players from various hometowns both domestically and internationally according to the official website.
Justin Fetcho serves as director of golf and head coach for Southern Illinois according to the official website. The team’s roster features athletes from diverse backgrounds such as Belgium, Costa Rica, South Korea and Denmark according to the official website.
Looking ahead beyond this invitational event in Iowa City, all eyes turn toward Annbriar Golf Course where teams will vie for conference honors later this month.
