Hudson, Spencer card 3-under; KU golf third

STOCKTON, Calif. – For the second-straight day, a Kansas senior came up big at the NCAA Stockton Regional at The Reserve at Spanos Park. Daniel Hudson scattered five birdies and a pair of bogeys Tuesday to finish with a 3-under 69, matching the output of sophomore Andy Spencer, who shot a 69 for the second-straight round.
 
The Jayhawks led the 13-team field for the majority of the day, but a pair of double bogeys on No. 17 dropped KU back to third place with a 282, one stroke off the lead at 13-under. Kansas will head into the final round trailing Alabama and Iowa State, which are tied for first, while Stanford (-8) is fourth and TCU (-7) is fifth.
 
“We played solid again (Tuesday),” head coach Jamie Bermel said. “We had a couple of sloppy three-putts, but overall another good day.”
 
Spencer will start the final round tied for sixth after sitting at 6-under through 36 holes. He was the model of consistency for the round, as he opened the day with a birdie and added another on No. 6. After shooting par on the other front-nine holes, Spencer carded two more birdies on No. 11 and No. 14, before posting his only plus-score for the round with a bogey on No. 15. It was the 10^th time Spencer notched a score in the 60s this season and his third 60s-score in his last five rounds played.
 
After shooting a team-high 74 Monday, Hudson rebounded with his 3-under 69. As a result, Hudson jumped into a tie for 21^st with is 1-under 143. The round was his sixth time in the 60s this season and the 16^th of his career.
 
“Andy played real well again and Dan Hudson stepped up with a very good round, too,” Bermel added. 
 
Monday’s individual leader, Daniel Sutton, finished his second round at 1-over and dropped into a tie for 10^th. Playing at even par, Sutton ran into problems on No. 17 and posted a double bogey, but was able to get a stroke back with a birdie on No. 18.  
 
Another big story on the day was the play of Harry Hillier. The freshman cruised through the front nine with seven pars and back-to-back birdies on No. 5 and No. 6.  On hole No. 11, Hillier added another birdie to sit at 3-under with six holes to play.  However, a bogey on No. 13 and a double bogey on No. 17 set him back and Hillier finished with a 1-under 71. He is currently tied for 26^th and even after two rounds.
 
His older brother, Charlie Hillier, posted a second-round score of 1-over and is the same over two rounds.  He is tied for 34^th with a 145. Charlie Hillier appeared to be heading toward an even-par score for the second-straight day, but a bogey on No. 18 put him on the plus-side of the ledger.
 
“Wednesday is a big day,” Bermel said. “This is why we play college golf; to get in this position. We need to do our thing and not worry about scores, position and etcetera.  I believe our guys will be ready for the challenge.”
 
With a top-five finish, the Jayhawks will qualify for their first NCAA Championship appearance since 2000.
 
Kansas will play the final round with Iowa State and Alabama, the same threesome as the second round, as the groups tee off at 9:30 a.m. CT.  Live scoring for the NCAA Regional is available at golfstat.com.

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