🏌️♂️ Jayhawks Pace Strong Finish at Day One of Gopher Invitational
INDEPENDENCE, MINN. – The 29th-ranked Jayhawks opened the Gopher Invitational in style on Sunday, shooting a team score of -8 through 36 holes to complete day one. The Jayhawks stand tied for sixth place and will complete the final round of the tournament on Monday.
An opening round of 67 (-4) and current standing of eighth place on the leaderboard has junior Davis Cooper leading all Jayhawks. He is four-under following day one. After a bogey on the first hole, Cooper caught fire and carded six birdies in round one. Cooper backed-up his 67 with a round two score of 71 (E) to keep the Jayhawks in the hunt.
Junior Cecil Belisle shot a 72 (+1) to open the tournament and then fired a 68 (-3) to mark him tied for 20th at -2 for the event. Belisle caught fire during round two, posting four birdies in a row for a 33 on the back nine.
Gunnar Broin, a Colorado State transfer, posted a 71 (E) in the opening round and followed up with a 69 (-2) to wrap up day one. Broin made four birdies in the second round and is tied for 20th after day one.
Junior William Duquette stayed consistent through the first two rounds, posting a bogey-free 70 (-1) in round one and a 72 in round two to put him tied for 37th heading into the final round. Freshman Will King shot a 73/74 to finish the opening day tied for 67th at +5.
“We played solid today,” Coach Jamie Bermel said. “We had some sloppy unforced errors, but we kept battling back. The weather was absolutely perfect, and the course was there for the taking.”
The Jayhawks will look to chase Rutgers (-15), Kent State (-11), Georgia Southern (-11) and others in the final round Monday.
“Davis had a nice day, while Gunnar and Cecil stayed very consistent throughout the day,” Bermel said. “We need to get off to a good start on Monday and post a good score.”
The third and final round is set for Monday morning, with live stats available on Golfstat.
