Alex Gutesha Paces Kansas Golf In Spring Opener

Feb. 27, 2011

Complete Results in PDF Format

PALM DESERT, Calif. – Alex Gutesha finished 12^th individually and helped Kansas to a 12^th-place team finish in the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate Saturday and Sunday. The tournament was the first spring event for the Jayhawks.

Gutesha’s finish was his second-best this season and marked the fourth career top-15 individual placing for the sophomore from Greenwood Village, Colo. He fired three straight rounds of 74 for a 222 total.

The Jayhawks finished 12^th after carding their best round of the tournament on Sunday. After opening the event with a 307 and shooting 308 in the second round, Kansas shot a 301 for a 916 total.

Two Kansas players posted their best rounds of the event on the final day. Chris Gilbert shot a 72 after recording consecutive rounds of 77 and his 226 total tied for 25^th. Doug Quinones shot a final-day 76 and his 242 total tied for 88^th.

Other Jayhawks included Nate Barbee, who tied for 68^th at 235 with a final-round 79 and Jeff Bell, who shot 79 in the third round, but was disqualified in the second round.

“Alex played solid the whole tournament,” said KU head coach Kit Grove. “Chris played well today after a shaky start Saturday. We had a lot of rust coming out of the winter and we have a lot to improve on. We missed a lot of short putts. As rusty as we were, we threw a lot of shots away because of bad mental play.”

Texas A&M (879) won the tournament by five shots over UNLV (884). SMU was third at 890, UC Santa Barbara fourth at 892 and Denver fifth at 895 in the 20-team tournament.

Scott Travers of Santa Clara and Kevin Penner of UNLV finished the three rounds at 213 to pace all individuals. Travers won a scorecard playoff for medalist honors.

Kansas will play at the Louisiana Classic in Lafayette, La. in its next action March 7-8.

Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate

Team Results (20 Teams)

1. Texas A&M 294-293-292—879

2. UNLV 297-293-294—884

3. SMU 299-301-290—890

4. UC Santa Barbara 301-299-292—892

5. Denver 305-296-294—895

12. Kansas 307-308-301—916

Individual Results

1. Scott Travers, Santa Clara 74-70-69—213*

1. Kevin Penner, UNLV 70-69-74—213

3. Conrad Shindler, Texas A&M 73-73-71—217

4. Kelly Kraft, SMU 72-74-72—218

5. Marc Sambol, SMU 73-75-71—219

5. Ignacio Elvira, Texas A&M 73-74-72—219

* – won scorecard playoff.

Kansas Individuals

12. Alex Gutesha 74-74-74—222

T25. Chris Gilbert 77-77-72—226

T68. Nate Barbee 80-76-79—235

T88. Doug Quinones 85-81-76—242

DQ. Jeff Bell 76-DQ-79–DQ