NORMAN, Okla. – Freshman Will King fired a 4-under 68 Monday in the opening round of the NCAA Norman Regional to lead Kansas on the first day of play at Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club.
As a team, the Jayhawks fired an even-par round of 288 and sit in seventh place, 10 shots behind leader Texas Tech and four shots behind fifth-place Colorado. The top five teams after three rounds advance to the NCAA Championship in Arizona.
The Red Raiders, ranked No. 5 in the country and seeded No. 1 in the regional, have a one-shot lead over No. 9 Oklahoma and a three-shot lead on No. 17 Alabama. No. 32 Duke is -5, one shot ahead of Colorado. North Florida, ranked No. 44, is 3-under and the only school between Colorado and Kansas.
The Jayhawks are four shots ahead of No. 41 LSU and five shots ahead of No. 20 Ole Miss and Princeton and six shots clear of No. 29 Wake Forest.
King, a true freshman playing in his first postseason, started on hole No. 10 on Monday and began brilliantly. He birdied his first three holes to start and after a bogey on his fifth hole, got it right back with a birdie on the next. He made the turn at 2-under and then fired a bogey-free 2-under on the front – his back – to card a 68 and pace the Jayhawks. The Olathe native is tied for fourth, two shots behind the leaders, Nick Dunlap from Alabama and Drew Goodman from Oklahoma. Texas Tech’s Ludvig Aberg, the world’s No. 1 amateur, is one shot ahead of King at -5.
“He was very good,” Coach Jamie Bermel said of King. “He got off to a fast start and kept that momentum. It was just a great round. Obviously, he is just a freshman, who has never played in something like this, and I couldn’t be more proud of his fight and determination. All-around, just a great round.”
Juniors Cecil Belisle and William Duquette both shot 1-over 73s and are tied for 35th, while junior Davis Cooper shot a 74 and is tied for 45th. Junior Gunnar Broin finished with a 76 and is tied for 56th.
“We have 36 holes, so anything can happen,” Bermel said. “We need to get off to a fast start and keep that momentum going and see if we can’t finish a little better.”
Duquette and Belisle both had two birdies on their card in the opening round. Duquette birdied back-to-back holes at 13 and 14 and shot a 1-under 35 on his front nine. Belisle shot a 2-over on his front, but then picked up birdies on holes one and three (his 10th and 12 holes of the day) to shoot 1-under on his back.
Cooper had birides at one, five and 16, while Broin birdied Nos. 6 and 10.
Broin will be the first Jayhawk to tee off in the second round. He will go off the 10th hole at 8:55 a.m., and Kansas will be paired with LSU and Ole Miss. Cooper will follow at 9:06, then Belisle at 9:17, Duquette at 9:28 and King will be the last to tee off at 9:39.
Live stats will be available through Golfstat.
