Hanna catches fire, Jayhawks in the hunt

LAHAINA, Hawaii – Setting a new school record, senior Chase Hanna posted the lowest round of his career to lead Kansas on an incredible comeback in the second day of the Ka’anapali Collegiate Classic.

Coming out of the gates firing, Hanna started the day with back to back birdies, accompanied by an eagle on his fourth hole. Hanna continued the theme, posting back to back birdies three more times to put his birdie count at a staggering nine on the day. He finished with a 10-under-par, 61, and now sits tied for first place with Georgia’s Greyson Sigg at nine-under-par in the 132 golfer field. Hanna’s score tied the course record at the Royal Ka’anapali Golf Club.

“Great round by Chase (Saturday),” head coach Jamie Bermel said. “I’ve seen some pretty good rounds of golf and his round (Saturday) was impressive. He’s a senior and very experienced and I couldn’t be happier for him. Chase knows the NCAA record is 60 and he had a really good chance on the last hole. He is such a competitor and it showed. Some golfers get nervous when they get a lot under-par, but he just kept going lower and lower. Coach (Chris) Wilson was with him the last few holes and really kept him in the moment.”

Junior Daniel Sutton also had himself a day, posting a four-under-par, 67. Sutton played nearly flawless, recording only one bogey on the day which came on his second hole. Starting the day at three-over-par, with a first round 74, Sutton is now tied for 18^th place. He has managed to break the top-20 twice in his four events.

Getting his groove back, sophomore Charlie Hillier started the day strong with a birdie on his second hole, and managed to play with consistency for the remainder of the round, posting a three-under-par, 68. Hillier started the day at four-over-par, but was able to bounce back to find himself tied for 31^st.

Making another significant contribution to the team’s score, sophomore Jake Scarrow played his second round at even par. Despite four birdies on the day, a double bogey on the par-four 10^th caused Scarrow to fall back to even. With struggles in the first round, Scarrow is now tied for 59^th at five-over-par.

Junior Daniel Hudson had a slow start to the day with back to back bogeys followed by a double-bogey on his third. Hudson would not let his round be ruined, collecting three birdies to post a three-over-par 74, putting him tied for 69^th. Hudson also shot a 74 in his first round of the event.

Freshman Andy Spencer posted a great round as an individual, with his six birdies resulting in a three-under-par, 68, to put him tied for 16^th. Spencer has the chance to break the top-20 for the first time in his career.

The Jayhawks were the best in the field on the second day, shooting 17-under-par for the day, after finishing day one at 11-over-par. Kansas is now tied for fourth in the tournament at six-under-par. The top three teams are all ranked in the top-25, led by No. 15 Georgia at 18-under-par, followed by No. 13 LSU and No. 7 Oklahoma.

“Played a lot better (Saturday), very proud of the comeback,” Bermel said. “I thought our focus was much better and guys seemed to be paying with confidence.”

The event will conclude on Sunday, November 5, with a 1:30pm CST shotgun start.

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