🏌️♂️ 2020 Season In Review
The 2020 season was cut short due to the COVID-19 outbreak, but the Kansas men’s golf team was surging from the fall season into spring. The Jayhawks finished the 2019-20 season with five top-5 finishes as a team and ranked 38th on Golfstat.com and 40th on Golfweek.
"Obviously, disappointed the season was cut short, but sometimes life doesn’t quite work out the way we want. More disappointed for the seniors as they were doing a great job leading the team in a lot of ways. Andy Spencer has been a four-year starter and a mainstay in our lineup. Drew Shepherd is basically our point guard on the team. He has everyone organized on and off the golf course and has been a solid contributor the last two years. Both will graduate in May and then have a decision to make if they want to come back for another year. I told both of them there is no right or wrong answer, but selfishly I would like to have them back as they provide a lot to this team."
Head Coach Jamie Bermel
In his eighth season at the helm of the program, Bermel had the Kansas team on a path to make it to its fifth-straight appearance at the NCAA Regionals.
In the fall, the Jayhawks started their season with a second-place finish and carded 8-under par (856) at the Badger Invitational. They were led by the senior Spencer, who shot 7-under par 209 and placed tied for sixth on the individual leaderboard.
KU followed that performance up at the Windon Memorial Classic where the team tied for fourth place. Freshman Luke Kluver shot 3-under par (210) and tied for fifth place. The team went on to the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate where it finished eighth and shot 19-over par (883).
The Jayhawks traveled to Houston, Texas, to play in the Big 12 Match Play Championship where they claimed second place for the second consecutive season. Kluver continued his impressive freshman campaign and won all of his match-ups (5-0-0) to lead the team.
Kansas closed the fall in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, at the Ka’anapali Collegiate and placed eighth out of a 20-team field. Kluver led the team with a career-low 11-under par 202 and placed tied for sixth.
In the spring, the Jayhawks started the season in San Juan, Puerto Rico, at the TPC Dorado Beach Collegiate. Due to inclement weather, the tournament was shortened to just one round, in which the team placed second. Junior Ben Sigel recorded a career-low round at 7-under par (65) to tie for first place.
The team’s final tournament came at the Bandon Dunes Championship where it placed fourth on the team leaderboard. Junior Harry Hillier led the Jayhawks carding 1-under par (212) and tied for seventh place.
“As for the season, we had a lot of depth this year and several key contributors,” Bermel said. “Ben Sigel’s win in Puerto Rico was very good, Luke Kluver was a big help this year as a freshman. He played well every week and had several top finishes. Luke got better and better each week and has a chance to win each week we play. Harry Hillier had a very good junior year and continues to get more consistent. He had our best stroke average for the year and has proven he can compete each week. Jeff Doty was in and out of the lineup, but gave us more depth got better throughout the year and added a lot to the team depth.”
With Spencer and Shepherd waiting to make their decision to stay or turn professional, Bermel and the team will be ready for the 2020-21 season.
“I think if Andy and Drew come back, we have a chance to be very experienced and have a lot of guys who could compete to win. If they don’t come back, that gives the younger guys an opportunity to step in and help this team. My hope is everyone has a chance to compete in summer tournaments and when we get back to playing college golf, they are better and more experienced players.”
