Jayhawks take their momentum to Pearland
LAWRENCE, Kan. – After the first win of the season, marking Kansas’ fifth win in the last 14 events, senior Chase Hanna will lead Kansas once again as the Jayhawks head to Pearland, Texas to compete in the Bayou City Collegiate Championship at Golfcrest Country Club. The event will take place October 10-11.
With a win October 2 at the Golfweek Conference Challenge, Kansas will use its momentum in an attempt to be at the top of the leaderboard once again.
“I think (the win) certainly helps from a confidence standpoint,” head coach Jamie Bermel said. “I think it helps from an experience standpoint. New guys who weren’t here as well. Dan Hudson, Charlie Hillier and Chase Hanna won four times last year so they are pretty experienced, but you never know because winning is hard. When you’re in the lead you still have to finish it off, they aren’t just going to give it you. But I thought they responded well and got that low round again in the third round which is encouraging.”
Now halfway through its fall schedule, Kansas has improved its place on the leaderboard each week as it continues to gain experience. Bermel will once again look to this experience as Hanna, Hudson and Hillier will make the trip to compete, marking their fourth-straight event this season.
Coming off of his first individual victory, Hanna brings with him the lowest-scoring average on the team at 69.44, playing eight of nine rounds this season at even-par or under and recording 40 birdies in just three events. Hillier has remained consistent thus far, cracking the top-20 in all three events this season, including a tied for an eighth-place finish at the Rod Myers Invitational. Hudson has been able to improve his score each week, breaking the top-20 once at the Golfweek Conference Challenge.
Kansas will also look for solid rounds out of the Idaho transfer Dan Sutton and redshirt-freshman Alex Moorman. Sutton has already proved his value in his first two events as a Jayhawk, recording four rounds even-par or better and placing fourth at the Golfweek Conference Challenge. With one team event now under his belt, Moorman will look to continue improving.
“Dan Sutton hits the ball pretty straight, so really he should be in there every week and every round,” Bermel said. “If he gets that putter hot he has a chance to win, because he doesn’t typically make too many mistakes out there.”
Idaho transfer Jake Scarrow, playing as an individual, will compete in his second event with the Jayhawks and his first since the season opener at the Rod Myers Invitational.
“Jake (Scarrow) has played quite a bit so he has some experience and Alex (Moorman) has been around a while. I honestly don’t know if we have our strongest lineup yet. I think Andy Spencer and Alex Moorman and Jake Scarrow are right in the mix. Dan Hudson has picked up his play in the last couple of tournaments and is starting to get situated and Charlie Hillier has played solid as well.”
According Golfweek men’s team collegiate rankings, at a No. 19-ranking Kansas is the highest-rated team in the 14-team field. The Jayhawks will be joined with three other top-100 teams in Lamar, Houston and Rice. Other teams in the field include Abilene Christian, Arkansas-Little Rock, Charleston Southern, Houston Baptist, McNeese State, Nebraska, Sam Houston State, Texas-Arlington, Texas-San Antonio and Texas State.
The event begins with an 8:30 a.m., CT shotgun start on Monday, with 36 holes to be played that day.
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