Experience will lead men’s golf in Scottsdale
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas men’s golf will look to its experience once again as the Jayhawks travel to Scottsdale, Arizona, to compete in the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate, Saturday and Sunday. KU will be led by senior Chase Hanna, junior Daniel Hudson and sophomore Charlie Hillier, all of whom have played in every event of the 2016-17 season thus far.
“It’s a good lineup,” head coach Jamie Bermel said. “This is probably our fourth or fifth different one. With a senior, two juniors, a sophomore and a freshman, it’s a pretty experienced lineup. Chase had a good finish last week and is one of those guys with the more reps he gets, the more comfortable he gets.”
The event will take place at The Outlaw Golf Course at Desert Mountain, a course designed by the great Jack Nicklaus. With a unique layout, the course requires accurate placement and strategy to be successful. Kansas will use its experience to try and come out on top.
“We are somewhat familiar with this golf course,” Bermel said. “The guys have played it quite a bit over the winter and Dan Hudson is a member. So we have a have a comfort level there.”
Hanna will be in the number one spot once again, leading the Kansas squad in the 2016-17 campaign with six finishes inside of the top-20, including his first career victory. Awarded Co-Big 12 Golfer of the Month back in November, Hanna will look come out of the gates strong in March to add another accolade to his resume.
Seeming to have found his groove, Hudson comes off of his best performance yet this year, with a tie- for-fifth-place finish at the Desert Intercollegiate February 17-19. Hudson, a member of The Outlaw, will use his experience to try and lead the Jayhawks to their third team title this season.
Hillier looks to break even this weekend after recording an even par scoring average so far this season. One of the most reliable golfers on the squad, Hillier has contributed to the team score in 19 of his 21 rounds, the most by any member of the team.
Bringing even more experience to the table, junior transfer Daniel Sutton will also compete this weekend. Shining early on, Sutton recorded two top-20 finishes in October, including a fourth place spot. Sutton will look to find his groove once again to earn himself a finish toward the top of the leader-board.
As the sole freshman traveling, Andy Spencer will continue to gain playing experience. Spencer found himself tied for 38th at the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate, after recording a four-over-par performance for the event.
“One of the things that we have talked about the past couple of days is working on the wedges and our putting,” Bermel said. “We need to sharpen that up so we spent a lot of our time on short game.”
Michigan will host the tournament while Northwestern, Purdue, Alabama, SMC, Tennessee, Washington State, Indiana, Marquette, Utah and San Diego will round out the 12-team event.
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