Challenging course puts Kansas in fifth after round one of Maui Jim Intercollegiate
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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Thanks to junior Charlie Hillier and senior Daniel Sutton’s even-par 72 rounds, the Kansas men’s golf team sits at fifth place at 4-over on the Maui Jim Intercollegiate leaderboard. The challenging Desert Forest Golf Club proved to be the enemy on the day, as only one team in the field managed to score under-par.
“It was a real tough course,” said Jayhawk head coach, Jamie Bermel. “The driving areas are fairly tight and the course is playing firm and fast.”
Even with a challenging course, Hillier managed to record two birdies on the front nine, which saw him move all the way up to a share of third-place in the individual leaderboard as he made his way to the back nine. At the end of the day, the New Zealand native was able to record 14 pars on the day, which was tied for the second-most individual pars in the field.
One of those who tied Hillier with 14 pars on the day was Sutton. He showed a great deal of consistency, as 12 of his 14 pars came in his first 12 holes. The senior surrendered a bogey on holes 13 and 15, but redeemed himself by birdieing the final two holes of the round.
Following Hillier and Sutton’s even-par performances were a pair of 2-over performances by junior Jake Scarrow and sophomore Andy Spencer. Scarrow took the course by storm, going 2-under through his first six holes and moving up to a share of second-place in the field. He added two more birdies to his total to start off the back nine, but the final three holes gave difficulties to the junior.
Spencer, who is fresh off a second-place finish at the Badger Invitational, led the Jayhawks with five birdies on the day, a feat that only seven players in the entire field were able to accomplish.
Wrapping up the Jayhawks was senior Daniel Hudson, whose round was plagued by a rough five-hole stretch to start the day off. Despite a front nine that got the best of him, Hudson was able to record an even-par back nine.
Freshman Ben Sigel also made an individual appearance that was highlighted by 12 pars, which was tied for ninth best in the field.
“This is a golf course where you have to be extremely disciplined and patient,” added Bermel. “If we can eliminate the silly mental mistakes then I think we can post a good number (Saturday). We finished in a fairly good spot and can take that momentum into Saturday’s round.”
Round two starts Saturday morning at 9:55 a.m. CT, with Jake Scarrow kicking of the Jayhawks’ round at 11:10 a.m. CT. Live scoring will be available at Golfstat.com.
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