Gilbert Takes Ninth Place at Desert Shootout

March 24, 2012

Desert Shootout Final Results

GOODYEAR, Ariz. – Chris Gilbert carded his second-straight 70 (-2) to earn his fourth career top 10 finish with a three-round total of 211 (-5) as Kansas men’s golf concluded the Desert Shootout Saturday.

Gilbert finished in a three-way tie for ninth place after shooting all three rounds under par, while the Jayhawks maintained their eighth place position in the team standings with a 286 (-2) on the final day to finish the event with a 54-hole team score of 860 (-4).

“I’m definitely happy with Chris’ play this week,” said Kansas head coach Kit Grove. “He played solid for the entire tournament to get into the top 10. He’s kind of rounding back into form. Hopefully he can build off this week going into Charlotte next week.”

Saturday marked Kansas’ best top-to-bottom performance for the event, as every KU golfer posted a round of 73 (+1) or better. Senior Doug Quinones and junior Paul Harris each fired their best rounds of the tournament with a 71 and 73, respectively. Freshman Dylan McClure added an even-par 72, and junior Alex Gutesha shot a 73 (+1) to finish the Desert Shootout in a tie for 31st with a 217 (+1).

“As a team, 2-under today is solid,” said Grove. “Having a high score of 73 is definitely a step in the right direction. Golf always comes down to one shot here and one shot there. It’s disappointing to end up in eighth when you’re only four shots out of fourth, but we’ll take all of the positives away from this week. All in all it was a much more positive week. Overall, the team effort was much better today. Hopefully we can build on that.”

KU saw its second-best individual finish come from freshman David Auer, who was competing as the Jayhawks’ sixth golfer and could not count toward the team total. After shooting two rounds at even par, Auer recorded his best score for the event with a 1-under 71 over the final 18 holes.

“I’m very pleased with his performance,” said Grove. “David’s going through a couple of grip changes and some different things. As a freshman, going out and shooting under par for the week is all you can ask for. He’s making a great play to get into our starting lineup.”

Kansas will return to tournament action next Saturday, March 31, when the team competes in the Irish Creek Collegiate in Charlotte, N.C.