Kansas finishes ninth in the Hootie at Bulls Bay

The Hootie at Bulls Bay
Bulls Bay Golf Club | Awendaw, South Carolina
Par-72 | 7,268 Yards

Spencer managed to play the final round at even par to finish the event in a tie for 24th.
Final Results
Place Team Score
1 South Carolina 844 (-20)
2 Mississippi 848 (-16)
T3 NC State 854 (-10)
T3 Auburn 854 (-10)
5 Georgia State 859 (-5)
6 Kentucky 860 (-4)
7 Purdue 861 (-3)
8 Missouri 862 (-2)
9 Kansas 863 (-1)
10 Virginia 864 (E)
11 College of Charleston 867 (+3)
12 Houston 875 (+11)
13 Richmond 881 (+17)
14 Charleston Southern 887 (+23)
15 Wisconsin 900 (+36)
Individual Leaderboard (Top 5)
Place Name Team Score
1 Ben Wolcott MISS 204 (-12)
2 Braden Thornberry  MISS 205 (-11)
3 Keenan Huskey SC 206 (-10)
4 Stephen Franken NCST 208 (-8)
T5 Jamie Wilson SC 209 (-7)
T5 Jimmy Stanger VIRG 209 (-7)
Kansas Leaderboard
Place Name Score
T17 Chase Hanna 215 (-1)
T24 Andy Spencer 216 (E)
T30 Daniel Sutton 217 (+1)
T40 Charlie Hillier 219 (+3)
T51 Daniel Hudson 221 (+5)

AWENDAW, S.C. – Making improvements from the first two rounds, Kansas men’s golf finished in ninth place at the Hootie at Bulls Bay, led on the final day by sophomore Charlie Hillier, who recorded the lowest Jayhawk round of the event.

Hillier started the day off strong with an eagle on par-five tenth, his first hole of the round. Following with two birdies and a bogey, Hillier entered the turn at three-under-par. Opening his back nine with a bogey, Hillier was able to respond with three additional birdies before a bogey on the final hole, resulting in a four-under-par, 68. After struggles in the first two days posting a 75 followed by a 76, Hillier finished the event tied for 40th.

“I am very proud of Charlie and his performance,” head coach Jamie Bermel said. “He struggled mightily the first two days but had the resolve to battle back and played a very solid round of golf in fairly windy conditions. I think that shows what kind of player and person he is and the competitiveness he has on the course.”

Coming off of the only round under par on day two, freshman Andy Spencer matched his four bogeys with four birdies to play the final round at even par. Opening the round with a birdie, Spencer’s momentum slowed as he entered the turn at one over, but he responded with three more birdies on the back to record a 72. Spencer finished the event in a tie for 24th, at even par.

Junior Daniel Sutton responded to his three-over-par day Monday with consistency, also finishing the final round at even par. Recording par on 14 holes, Sutton had only two bogeys and two birdies on the day. With a solid first round 70, Sutton finished the event at one-over-par and in a tie for 30th.

Racking up his seventh top-20 finish of the season, senior Chase Hanna led the Jayhawks once again on the individual leaderboard, finishing in a tie for 17th. After a stellar 69 on day one, Hanna played back to back one-over-par rounds to conclude the event and finished with a 1-under 215.

Despite three birdies on the day, junior Daniel Hudson faced challenges, recording five bogeys to finish the final round with a two-over-par, 74. Hudson was five-over-par for the event, resulting in a tie for 51st.

“I am happy with (Tuesday’s) round,” Bermel said. “We battled all day and managed to make two birdies on the last hole from Andy and Chase which moved us up a spot to beat a very good Virginia team who is currently ranked ninth in the country. Dan Sutton was solid all week and we used Dan Hudson’s scores the first two rounds.”

South Carolina won the event for the second-straight year, finishing the tournament 19 strokes ahead of the Jayhawks at 20-under-par. Following in second and third place were No. 25 Mississippi and No. 23 Auburn. Kansas managed to edge out No. 9 Virginia by one stroke.

“This was a regional-type field and we finished ninth, four shots out of fifth” Bermel said. “We all know to qualify for the finals we need a top-five finish so we need to eliminate some careless mistakes and we should be right there.”

The Jayhawks will travel to Phoenix, Arizona, April 10-11, to compete in The Cowboy Classic, hosted by Wyoming.

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