Kansas finishes third at the Irish Creek Intercollegiate
KANNAPOLIS, N.C.— No. 31 Kansas men’s golf played its best in the third round of the Irish Creek Intercollegiate on Sunday. Head coach Jamie Bermel’s squad finished the day shooting 274 (-10) and jumped four spots to finish third overall in the tournament at 9-under (843). The Jayhawk’s 274 was the lowest round by anyone in the tournament this weekend. This is the fourth straight tournament, and their seventh total for the 2018-19 season, in which the team has placed inside the top-3. The team finished one stroke behind No. 49 Ohio State for second place (842) and were nine strokes behind the first-place finishing North Carolina at Greensboro (834).
Senior Charlie Hillier, junior Andy Spencer and sophomore Ben Sigel were the Jayhawk’s trio to lead the charge on Sunday. All three finished the final round with scores under 70 to help Kansas climb their way up four spots to finish inside the top-3. Charlie Hillier was able to secure his third straight tournament with a top-10 finish, finishing tied for 7th place overall, after he posted a 67 (-4) on Sunday. He was within five strokes of the second-place finisher John Pak (-9) from Florida State but was 16 strokes behind the first place Bryce Hendrix from UNCG who finished with a commanding 193 (-20) final score.
Spencer also used a 4-under performance to climb his way to finish even (213) for the weekend, placing him tied for 22nd overall. Sigel, on the other hand, was able to post his second straight 69 (-2) round to finish the tournament at 211 (-2). That was good enough to tie him for 14th overall in the 96-golfer field. This marks Sigel’s third finish in the top-20 this season.
Freshman Shaun Campbell, who was competing as an individual, also put in an impressive outing on Sunday. His 67 (-4) tied him for the best finish by a Jayhawk all tournament, as well as it gave him a new career low for a round. His 211 (-2) placed him in a tie for 14th overall.
Sophomore Harry Hillier ended the day at even-par (71) and tied for 34th with his 215 (+2) final score. Redshirt-freshman Jeff Doty rounded out the Jayhawks six, finishing with a 220 (+7) overall score after posting a 76 (+5) on the final day. He came in tied for 63rd on the player leaderboard.
The Jayhawks will head to Iowa City, Iowa next to compete in their last regular season tournament of the year. Iowa University’s Great River Entertainment Invitational will commence Saturday, April 20th and conclude the following day on Sunday the 21st.
NOTABLES
- Senior Charlie Hillier knocked down eight birdies in round three.
- This was Charlie Hillier’s third straight tournament finishing under par.
- Sophomore Ben Sigel finished with four birdies on the day.
- This was the first tournament this season in which Sigel scored back-to-back rounds under 70.
- Freshman Shaun Campbell finished with four birdies.
- Campbell’s finish of tied for 14th is the best of his career.
- Campbell’s 67 final round is the lowest of his collegiate career.
- Junior Andy Spencer finished with the team’s lone eagle on hole five on Sunday.
- Spencer scored four birdies on the day.
- Sophomore Harry Hillier finished with three birdies in round three.
- Redshirt freshman Jeff Doty had two birdies on Sunday.
QUOTES
Head coach Jamie Bermel:
On what worked well on Sunday:
“We were much more focused today from top to bottom. All five of out guys came out ready to play and we need that every round, not just the third round.”
On the individual performances:
“Ben Sigel continues to improve and has played solid the last two events. Also, Shaun Campbell played as an Individual and played well and had a bogey-free 67 on his third round. That really helps with our depth on the team. Charlie Hillier didn’t have his best this week, but his consistency really helped, and Andy Spencer had a solid 67 today as well. Overall, solid finish as we dug a hole yesterday and came out fighting today.”
On what needs to happen before the final tournament of the regular season:
“We have about two weeks to work on some things before we head to Iowa City for our final regular-season event. I hope we can improve and be better.”
