🏌️♂️ Jayhawks Leading the Way at Gopher Invitational After 2 Rounds
INDEPENDENCE, Minn. – The Kansas Jayhawks opened the Gopher Invitational in style on Sunday, shooting -11 over the opening 36 holes. The Jayhawks sit in first place and take a four-shot lead into the third and final round Monday.
In addition to leading the team leaderboard, sophomore Luke Kluver is tied atop the player leaderboard at five-under. Kluver shot a four-under 67 in the opening round, before backing that up with a second-round 70 in the afternoon. He is tied with Bradley Smithson from Michigan State for the lead, one shot ahead of teammate Callum Bruce and two others, who are at -4 and tied for third.
Bruce, a senior, shot even-par 71 to open the tournament and then fired a 67 in the second round. The San Diego State transfer had just one bogey on his card in the second round and shot a bogey-free 33 on his back nine, including two birdies on his final three holes to close strong.
Senior Ben Sigel is tied for 11th through two rounds at 2-under after shooting a 69 in the second round. Fellow senior Harry Hillier is tied for 21st at even par, while Davis Cooper is tied for 51st at +7.
The Jayhawks will look to hold off Michigan State (-7), Notre Dame (-5), Kent State (-3) and others in the final round Monday.
“We had a very good day of golf,” Coach Jamie Bermel said. “The second round was better than the first round. I think that is a sign of a mature team. Thirty-six holes is a lot of golf. The guys got tired the last nine holes, but continued to grind through the day.”
Kluver, who tied for sixth in the first tournament of the year earlier this month at the Marquette Intercollegiate, was strong from the start Sunday. The Norfolk, Nebraska native, who teed off on No. 10, parred his first two holes before picking up his fourth eagle of the season on the par-five 11th. Kluver led the field in eagles at the Marquette Intercollegiate and picked up where he left off in Minnesota.
Kluver birdied the next hole and then parred the next 13. On his final hole of the day, the par-five ninth, Kluver birdied to finish off his bogey-free 67. In his second round, he shot a two-under 34 on his front nine, including a birdie on his first hole, the par-three 10th. He birdied No. 3, and then picked up pars on his final six holes to finish -5 and tied for the lead.
Bruce was two-under through his first nine holes Sunday, before picking up a double bogey on No. 6 (his 15th) to fall to even. He then parred his final three holes to card an even-par 71 to open. He opened the second round with a birdie on No. 10 and went 34-33 to shoot a four-under 67 to match Kluver’s opening-round mark.
Sigel shot an even-par 71 in the first round, picking up two birdies and two bogeys. In the second round, he birdied his final hole to card a 69 and move up to T12 on the leaderboard. Hillier shot matching even-par 71s to open the tournament on Sunday. He was three-over with four holes to play in the second round, but birdied three of his final four holes to get back to even par for his round and the tournament.
“I thought Luke was very good today, and Callum’s 67 in the second round was huge,” Bermel said. “Ben played well, and Harry hung in there all day. I know the guys will be excited for the final round.”
The third and final round is set for Monday morning, with live stats available on Golfstat.
