🏌️♂️ Belisle, Cooper Pace Kansas in Third Round of Big 12 Championship
TRINITY, Texas – Led by under-par rounds from senior duo Davis Cooper and Cecil Belisle, the Kansas men’s golf team is in a tie for ninth place at +13 with 18 holes left to play of the Big 12 Championship at Whispering Pines Golf Club.
The 10th-seeded Jayhawks posted a third-round team score of 289 (+1) for the day, backing up their 298 (+10) and 290 (+2) in Monday’s opening two rounds.
No. 3-seed Texas leads the 14-team conference championship at -13, followed by No. 2-seed Oklahoma (-2) and No. 4-seed Oklahoma State (-1) to round out the top three of the leaderboard.
“We played okay today,” Kansas head coach Jamie Bermel said. “I thought Cecil and Davis were fairly steady and the other three were fine. This golf course has no easy holes out there. You lose your concentration on one shot and the penalty can get severe.”
Belisle jumped 14 spots in the leaderboard on Tuesday after an impressive round of 69 (-2), bouncing back from his opening rounds of 74 and 75 on Monday. Belisle sits tied for 25th at +2 for the event after carding seven birdies in the third round. Belisle birdied three of the four available Par 5s and led Kansas in scoring for the day.
Cooper added a solid, one-under 71 for Kansas in Tuesday’s third round. Cooper allowed just two bogeys on his card and picked up three birdies to jump 10 spots in the leaderboard at +6 and is tied for 38th.
Sophomore Will King continues his solid play at the conference championship, posting a 74 (+2) on the day and remains in the Top 20 at 18th with a +1 through three rounds. King carded two birdies on Tuesday and is nine strokes off the individual lead and three back of a two-player tie for ninth. The top 10 at the Big 12 Championship earn all-tournament honors.
Senior Gunnar Broin’s day got off to a scorching-hot start, firing off three-straight birdies to open his round. Broin went on to card another birdie on the 250-yard Par 3 16th. Broin finished the day with a two-over round of 74 and is tied for 43rd at +7 for the event.
Freshman Max Jelinek posted a two-over round of 74 for the third round, picking up three birdies on his scorecard. Jelinek is +12 for the event and in a tie for 55th.
“It’s a big day for us on Wednesday,” Bermel said. “This is a great field with great competition and I think our guys are looking forward to the challenge.”
CURRENT STANDINGS
18. Will King, E
T25. Cecil Belisle, +3
T38. Davis Cooper, +6
T43. Gunnar Broin, +7
T55. Max Jelinek, +12
THE FINAL ROUND
Kansas will tee it up for the fourth and final round on Wednesday, April 24 at 8:20 a.m. CT and be paired with Texas Tech and Cincinnati. Live scoring for the round can be found on Golfstat, while fans can also follow with live updates throughout the round from the official Kansas Men’s Golf Twitter (X) account. Live coverage for the final round will be provided via Big 12 Now on ESPN+ from 12:30-4:30 p.m. CT with Ryan Burr and Suzy Whaley on the call.
