🏌️♂️ Jayhawks Dominate in Maui; Earn 4th Straight Tournament Win
MAUI, Hawai’i – The Kansas Jayhawks won their fourth-straight stroke play tournament this fall on Sunday when they won the Ka’anapali Classic Collegiate Invitational by 20 shots at 52-under par.
The team’s 54-hole score of 800 is the program’s lowest since at least 1986-87 and the 20-shot margin is the fifth-largest margin of victory for the Jayhawks in school history. Additionally, with four tournament titles, Coach Jamie Bermel’s team has now tied a program record for team tournament championships in a season and still have five regular season tournaments left in the spring.
The Jayhawks, ranked No. 10 in the latest Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches Poll, were paced by senior Callum Bruce, who logged a fourth-place finish at 13-under par. Senior Harry Hillier and sophomore Davis Cooper tied for 5th at -12, while sophomore Luke Kluver picked up a Top 10 finish, tying for ninth. Senior Ben Sigel finished 25th at -3, while sophomore Hank Lierz finished 30th, playing as an individual.
“Wow, what a way to end the fall,” Bermel said. “It was just a great team effort. Callum, Davis, Harry and Luke all finished in the Top 10. Ben shot 64 yesterday and Hank Lierz played as the individual and got some very good experience. I’m really happy for the guys and the program. I think the guys are really starting to believe in themselves and continue to get better every day.
“We still have some work to do, but we are definitely headed in the right direction.”
Bruce had the low round of the day for the Jayhawks on Sunday, shooting a five-under 66. With his fourth-place finish, Bruce, a transfer from San Diego State, has placed inside the Top 10 in each of the last four events for the Jayhawks. The 66 on Bruce’s card match his season low, which he set both at the Quail Valley Collegiate and in the first round in Maui. On Sunday, Bruce had an eagle, four birdies and just one bogey on his card.
Cooper, who won earlier this fall at the Windon Memorial, shot a final-round 68 and was at least three-under par in each of his rounds in Maui. His 65 on Saturday established a new career-low for the Overland Park native. Hillier posted a bogey-free 68 to conclude his tournament and notch a second-straight Top-5 finish and the eighth of his career. Like Cooper, Hillier was at least three-under in each of his three rounds.
Kluver concluded his fall with a fourth Top-10 finish and has been at under or even par in all 15 rounds so far this season. Kluver shot a 68 on Sunday with six birdies and three bogeys. Kluver, who was named to the Haskins Award Final Fall Watch List earlier this month, was inside the Top 25 in all five stroke play events this fall for the Jayhawks and posted a winning record at Big 12 Match Play.
The 25th-place finish for Sigel is his second-best of the season and he had a new career-low round on Saturday in the second round with a 64. Lierz shot 68-72-72 to finish tied for 30th in his first stroke play action of the fall for Kansas.
The Jayhawks have now concluded play for the fall and will resume their 2021-22 season on Feb. 21 at The Prestige in California.
