Jayhawks close out NCAA Stanford Regional with best round of tournament
STANFORD, Calif. – Despite Kansas men’s golf posting a 281 (+1), its lowest round of the tournament, the Jayhawks were unable to finish inside the top five at the NCAA Stanford Regional at the Stanford Golf Course on Wednesday in order to punch a ticket to the NCAA Championship. The team finished in 10th place overall at 12-over (852) which was 10 strokes behind fifth-place LSU (842).
Host Stanford was able to claim the top spot in the tournament at 23-under (817), which was 12 strokes ahead of both Arizona State and North Carolina who both came in at 11-under (829). Georgia Southern took the fourth-place spot at 6-under (834) to round out the five that will be advancing to the NCAA Championship in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Kansas sophomores Ben Sigel and Harry Hillier led the final push for the Jayhawks on Wednesday as they both came away with sub-70 rounds. Sigel was able to sink a team-high six birdies to help him card a 69 (-1) in his final round. With his 1-under performance, Sigel finished the tournament at 2-over (212) and tied for 21st overall in the 75-golfer field. Meanwhile, Harry Hillier tied Sigel’s 69 (-1) after posting a 1-under back nine (34) score. That gave him a three round 216 (+6) and placed him in a tie for 43rd overall.
In his first taste of the NCAA postseason, redshirt freshman Jeff Doty tied Sigel for Kansas’ lowest total score over the three-day event. After tallying four birdies on Wednesday, Doty finished with a 71 (+1). His 212 (+2) final score and tied him alongside Sigel for 21st in the tournament.
Junior Andy Spencer had the third best performance of any Jayhawk this week after carding a 215 (+5). Spencer utilized four birdies on Wednesday to give himself a 72 (+2) for his final round as he tied for 38th place.
Rounding out the Kansas five was senior Charlie Hillier who posted his second consecutive 74 (+4) score in round three. His 219 (+9) placed him in a tie for 57th place in the field.
The 2018-19 season had a lot of highlights for KU. The Jayhawks won The Jackrabbit in October and placed second in the inaugural Big 12 Match Play Championship, also in October, defeating top-ranked Oklahoma State in the semifinals. KU had nine events where it finished fifth for better, with eight of those placing third or higher. The Jayhawks did not finish a 2018-19 event out of the top 10 and qualified for their fourth-straight NCAA Regional, a feat KU had not accomplished since 2000-03.
Individually, Harry Hillier won The Jackrabbit, while Charlie Hillier won his first collegiate title taking medalist honors at the Hootie at Bulls Bay in March. A three-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team honoree, Charlie Hillier competed in all but one tournament in his four-year career KU. This season, Charlie Hillier posted five top-10 finishes, while Harry Hillier had four. As a team, Kansas had 11 golfers finish in the top 10 during 2018-19.
NOTABLES
- Sophomores Ben Sigel and Harry Hillier both carded 69’s in their final round.
- Sigel led the team with six birdies on the day.
- Harry Hillier tallied three birdies in his 18 holes.
- Junior Andy Spencer and redshirt freshman Jeff Doty both carded four birdies in their final rounds.
- Senior Charlie Hillier finished with two birdies.
QUOTES
Head Coach Jamie Bermel
Q: What did you think of your team’s performance in the final round?
A: “We were better today, but we just couldn’t make up any ground. We battled out there and came up short. It is always disappointing to end the season at Regionals, but we had a solid year.”
Q: What do you have to say about senior Charlie Hillier?
A: “Hats off to Charlie Hillier and his career as a Jayhawk. He played in every tournament with the exception of one he missed this year for the Asian Amateur.”
