Kansas Golf to Participate in 28th Annual Louisiana Classics
March 3, 2013
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LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Kansas men’s golf team will begin its second tournament of the spring season when the team tees off at the 28th Annual Louisiana Classics hosted by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Monday. The Jayhawks will play three rounds over two days on the par-72, 6,898-yard Oakbourne Country Club, with an 8 a.m. shotgun start opening 36 holes Monday followed by 18 holes on Tuesday.
The Jayhawks will count the best four scores in each round from a team of Chris Gilbert, Alex Gutesha, Dylan McClure, Stan Gautier and Jackson Foth. Gilbert, Gutesha and McClure enter the tournament with the experience of playing last year’s Louisiana Classics tournament, while the sophomore transfer Gautier and freshman Foth will play the course for the first time as Jayhawks.
“That’s the five that ended the fall at (the Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate),” Kansas head coach Jamie Bermel said. “We kind of switched it up at the Classic Club but now we’re going back to that lineup. Alex and Chris are seniors, so they give us a little stability on that end. Dylan played there last year so we’re going into the event with just two new faces on that golf course. It’s a somewhat experienced team from last year so hopefully that will help us in the end.”
Kansas shot a 4-under 284 as a team in the second round of last year’s Louisiana Classics, but finished 23-over for the tournament and tied for 13th in the 15-team field. The Jayhawks will look to use the course familiarity to their advantage against a 14-team field that includes Houston, Illinois, Kent State, Louisiana, Louisiana Tech, LSU, Memphis, South Alabama, Southeastern Louisiana, Southern Miss, Teas State, Tulsa and Texas-San Antonio.
“It’s not like a basketball court or a football court, with the same regulation (measurements),” Bermel said. “Every course you go to is a little different – the more you play it, the more experience you get on it. Several of these golf courses are somewhat new to me because I’ve been more out West, but I’ve heard nothing but good things about this course.”
Gilbert continues to lead the Jayhawks in scoring average at 71.7 strokes per round and has been the team’s top scorer in four tournaments, carding four top-15 finishes in six events during the 2012-13 season. For the first time since early September, the senior’s name wasn’t at the top of the Jayhawks’ scorecard at the end of a tournament following the conclusion of the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate Feb. 24. Gautier led Kansas last week with a one-over 73 in the final round after spending part of the tournament’s second round at the top of the overall leaderboard and finished tied for 16th, the highest finish of his short KU career.
Gautier has contributed all but two of his 18 rounds to the Kansas team score, second only to Gilbert who’s been a member of the scoring-four every time he steps onto the course. The Paris, France native, has been a nice complement to KU’s steady senior.
“I was really happy for Stan for last week, he played good, and Chris (Gilbert) played pretty well,” Bermel said of the top of his lineup, “and then we were kind of hit and miss with the last three. We’ve been working on a lot of short game stuff (this week). This tournament has a little different grass than we’re used to.”
A year ago, Gilbert fired a 3-under in the second round but wrapped it in between rounds of 8-over and 5-over at this event, and McClure provided the most consistent effort by splitting a pair of 1-over rounds with a 1-under in the second. Gutesha shot a 73 and 74 in the first two rounds on the course last year before closing with a 7-over 79.
Monday and Tuesday present new opportunities for that trio. Gilbert has since won his first individual tournament title in the last 12 months and enters each competition as a contender, while McClure and Gutesha have continued to play their way into the scoring lineup
Both rounds of golf can be seen for free via a live stream at RaginCajuns.com featuring holes No. 9 and No. 18. Dan McDonald and Gerald Broussard will provide commentary for the video stream.
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