Hanna and Sutton lead slow day for Jayhawks

AWENDAW, S.C. – Kansas men’s golf finds itself in an unfamiliar situation, finishing the first round of The Hootie at Bulls Bay in a tie for 11^th place, led by senior Chase Hanna and junior Daniel Sutton, the only Jayhawks under par on day one.

Hanna came out of the gates firing, posting a birdie on his second hole followed by another on his eighth. A bogey on his ninth put Hanna at one-under-par before making the turn. The trend continued as Hanna posted birdies on two of the first four holes of the back nine before posting only his second bogey of the day. A birdie on his final hole resulted in a three-under-par, 69, and a tie for seventh to finish day one.

Seeming to have found his groove, Sutton played the first round at two-under-par, earning a tie for 12^th. Sutton started off slow, posting a bogey in two of the first three holes. Responding to two early mistakes, Sutton played the rest of his round at even par or better and posted a total of four birdies on the day.

“Chase and Dan played well (Sunday),” head coach Jamie Bermel said. “Dan got absolutely nothing out of his round. He was right behind the group that I was in. Every time I looked back, he was right in the middle of the fairway and then hit some very good iron shots. He didn’t putt poorly, just didn’t make a lot.”

Junior Daniel Hudson ended the day at one-over-par after an uneventful front nine, but ran into problems as he opened up the back nine with back-to-back bogeys. Hudson was able to keep his composure and played the remaining seven holes blemish free with one birdie. Entering the clubhouse with a two-over-par, 74, Hudson will begin round two in a tie for 51^st.

Despite three birdies on the day, sophomore Charlie Hillier was in trouble too many times to overcome at Bulls Bay Golf Club. Hillier managed to play the first eight holes at even par with one bogey matched by one birdie, but a double bogey on his ninth hole put him at two-over-par going into the turn. With three bogeys and two birdies, Hillier played his back nine at one-over-par, to finish the day with a 75. Hillier’s three-over-par performance puts him at a tie for 62^nd.

Freshman Andy Spencer was in a similar situation as Hillier, playing his front nine at even-par with one birdie and one bogey. Unfortunately, three bogeys accompanied by a double-bogey on the back resulted in a three-over-par, 75. Spencer is also tied for 62^nd.

As a whole, Kansas was able to finish the day at even par and now sit tied for 11^th place going into the second day. Georgia State leads the field at 11-under-par followed closely by defending champion South Carolina at nine-under-par. No. 15 Virginia, No. 25 Mississippi and No. 23 Auburn are in third, fourth and fifth, respectively.

“We were the last out today and the wind came up for most of our second nine,” Bermel said. “We need to play the par fives better and I think we can shoot quite a few under par.”

Kansas will continue the tournament with 9:50 am tee time Monday.

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