🏌️♂️ Belisle Claims First at The Prestige, Kansas Finishes Second in 24-Team Field
LA QUINTA, Calif. – Kansas senior Cecil Belisle claimed his second individual title of the season after firing a final-round 67 on Wednesday to win The Prestige at Greg Norman Course at PGA West. As a team, Kansas also had a strong tournament, finishing second at the event at -21, beating out 11 top-50 ranked teams for its best finish of the season.
“It was a big week for the Jayhawks, and our guys responded,” head coach Jamie Bermel said. “Texas Tech had a nice week and played very well, but I’m proud of the team.”
After rounds of 67-66-67—200, Belisle finished 13-under, two shots ahead of Stanford’s Karl Vilips and Washington’s Petr Hruby to earn the win. Belisle, who tied Callum Bruce (2021) and Chase Hanna (2014) for the lowest 54-hole individual score in program history at 200, withstood a final-round 66 from Vilips to hold on and earn his second win of the season after capturing the Folds of Honor Collegiate in the fall.
“Cecil was the guy this week,” Bermel added. “He played well all three days and was in total control of his golf ball. The kid works as hard as anyone I have coached in 32 years, and he deserves to be the champion.”
A native of Red Wing, Minnesota, Belisle topped a loaded field of 120 golfers for his second win of the season. With the title, Belisle became the 10th Jayhawk ever to win multiple tournaments in the same season and the first since Hanna won two tournaments in 2016-17.
“This morning was pretty challenging, but I was able to take advantage of the opportunity I was blessed with,” Belisle said. “I want to thank the coaches for always making me better and I am grateful for another strong start to the semester, but we are not done yet. Congrats to the boys too for delivering a strong week. Now it’s time to build from it and keep getting better each day. We have what it takes and we can do it.”
Kansas finished second at the event at -21 under par, totaling a team score of 831, which tied for the seventh lowest 54-hole score in program history. The second place finish also marks the team’s top finish of the 2023-24 season to this point. No. 24 Texas Tech won the event at -33, followed by the Jayhawks, No. 88 Stanford (-17), No. 5 Washington (-15), No. 69 Kansas State (-12) and No. 26 Duke (-12) to round out the top five.
Senior Davis Cooper finished inside the top-20 at the event, tying for 17th at four-under par after posting scores of 69-71-69 for the Jayhawks. The T17 finish for the senior is the best of his season and also marks the first time he has had two rounds in the 60s in the same tournament since he finished tied for fourth at the Gopher Invitational in 2022.
Senior William Duquette finished T46 at one-over, while sophomore Will King (+2) finished T54 and senior Gunnar Broin (+4) finished tied for 72nd, respectively. Broin finished in style on Wednesday with a 2-under 69. He was +1 heading into his final five holes, but picked up birdies at holes 14, 17 and 18 to post a 69.
“We didn’t have our best stuff today, but they fought hard and played with a lot of toughness,” Bermel said. “Gunnar responded well today with a nice round and really helped the team, but it was a total team effort. All of them played solid golf.”
UP NEXT
The Jayhawks will head to St. Simons Island, Georgia for the Johnnie-O at Sea Island on March 11-12 at Seaside Golf Course. Last season, Kansas finished fifth at the event and was led by a T6 finish from Broin (E) and a T9 finish from Duquette (+1).
