Jayhawks toughen 2018-19 schedule in hopes to appear in fourth-straight NCAA Regional

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Coming off its third-straight NCAA Regional appearance and the program’s first NCAA National Championship appearance since 2000, Kansas men’s golf has beefed up its schedule for 2018-19.

“We have continued to upgrade the schedule from year to year as the team makes progress,” KU head coach Jamie Bermel said. “I think this year’s schedule will allow us to compete against some of the best teams in the country. It is our hope that when the Big 12 Championship comes around in April, we are playing at our best.”

Bermel’s team will be led by seniors Charlie Hillier and Jake Scarrow. Other returnees include junior Andy Spencer, along with sophomores Ben Sigel and Harry Hillier. With the loss of seniors Daniel Hudson and Daniel Sutton, KU’s four incoming freshmen will look to compete for a starting spot on the already talented roster.

“We have added some new events this year, and have some events that we have played in the past,” Bermel said. “We are really looking forward to the event in Wisconsin, the field is solid and it is the first event this fall.”

The road to a fourth-straight NCAA Regional for the Jayhawks begins on Sept. 9 at the Badger Invitational, where KU finished second to start the 2017-18 season. For the first time in school history, KU will compete in the Shoal Creek Intercollegiate at the Shoal Creek Golf Club in Birmingham, Alabama, from Sept. 24-25. Shoal Creek has hosted numerous Professional Golf Association (PGA) and collegiate events.

“I’m most looking forward to watching the guys compete at Shoal Creek,” Bermel mentioned. “It’s a great course with a lot of history of hosting major championships.”

The Jayhawks will appear in the Jackrabbit at the Prairie Club-Dunes Course for the second-straight year where KU finished third overall last season. The Jackrabbit, Sept. 30-Oct. 2, is a quick turnaround from Shoal Creek. KU will then take a week off before competing in the Big 12 Match Play Championship, Oct. 12-14, in Hockley, Texas, at The Clubs at Houston Oaks.

Kansas wraps up the fall portion of the season at the University of Hawaii’s Ka’anapali Collegiate Classic in Maui, Hawaii. Spencer looks to repeat his stellar performance of 10-under-par and his second-place overall finish at last season’s classic.

The Desert Intercollegiate (Feb. 22-24) and Desert Mountain Intercollegiate (March 9-10) kick off the spring season as the team returns to these courses for the third-straight year. The Jayhawks finished first overall at last season’s Desert Mountain Intercollegiate with Spencer, Hudson and Charlie Hillier leading the team with under-par performances.

March 24-26 the team travels to Awendaw, South Carolina, to play at Bulls Bay Golf Club, hosted by the University of South Carolina. The next course is a repeat from last season’s schedule as the Jayhawks will compete in the Irish Creek Intercollegiate (April 6-7) in Charlotte, North Carolina. Senior Charlie Hillier finished 12th out of 88 golfers in last season’s Irish Creek Intercollegiate. The Jayhawks will cap off their regular season with a trip to Iowa City, Iowa, April 20-21, to compete in the Great River Entertainment Invitational.

The Big 12 Championship runs April 26-28 at the Greenbrier-Old White in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. With a two week break after the conference tournament, the Jayhawks look to repeat their phenomenal 20-under-par performance at the 2018 NCAA Regionals. There are six NCAA Regional sites with the competition beginning on May 12.

Potential NCAA Regional sites include: Louisville, Kentucky (host: Louisville); Stanford, California (host: Stanford); Athens, Georgia (host: Georgia); Pullman, Washington (host: Washington State) and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (host: Coastal Carolina).

The 2019 NCAA Championship, May 24-29, will be hosted by Arkansas University at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

KUAthletics.com: The official online source for Kansas Athletics, Williams Education Fund contributions, tickets, merchandise, multimedia, photos and much, much more.