Kansas finishes runner-up at inaugural Big 12 Match Play Tournament
HOCKLEY, Texas – Entering Sunday’s morning final round of match play, fourth-seed Kansas remained tied in Pool A with top-seeded Oklahoma State at seven points at the inaugural Big 12 Match Play Tournament at Houston Oaks Golf Club.
KU and OSU ended their match all square at 3-3-0 with the Jayhawks claiming the tiebreaker by winning the most holes in the match, advancing as the Pool A representative in the tournament championship. KU would face a buzz saw as sixth-seeded Baylor dominated Pool B going 4-0 and defeated KU 5-1-0 in the title match.
Against top-rated Oklahoma State, the Jayhawks would get off to any early lead with the help of junior Andy Spencer’s two-hole advantage only six-holes into the competition. Spencer and senior Charlie Hillier would each win their first four matches of the tournament. Oklahoma State would then battle back to square the round at 2-2-2. The match would continue to go back and forth, resulting in a 3-3-0 tie after 18-holes.
Baylor came into the championship round undefeated with 12 total tournament points. Kansas entered the concluding match play round with eight total tournament points. Sophomores Ben Sigel and Drew Shepherd would start the round hot with one-hole leads, which would create a 2-2-2 match tie. This would be the closest the Jayhawks would get to leading the match as the Bears ran with a 5-0-1 lead at the turn and did not look back. Shepherd was the lone KU winner in the title match going 1UP.
QUOTES
Head Coach Jamie Bermel
“We had a great win this morning. We had a huge challenge to take on Oklahoma State and we won the match. Drew Shepherd made a huge putt on his last hole to win his match and put us in the finals. Andy Spencer played a great match and that was another key to the win along with Charlie Hillier.”
“Baylor just flat beat us this afternoon. We just didn’t play well and I think some of the guys were mentally exhausted from the morning match.”
“Overall, this was a good week for the team. We were the fourth seed and finished second. After the morning round, I know the guys weren’t thinking about second, but we couldn’t get it done the last match. I give a lot of credit to Baylor, I thought they were the better team today.”
Notables
- This was the inaugural Big 12 Match Play Tournament.
- With the runner-up finish, Kansas has placed in the top five of all four fall tournaments in 2018-19. Included was the tourney title as The Jackrabbit, Sept. 30-Oct. 2.
- Six of Kansas’ seven golfers won at least one match over the three days. Charlie Hillier and Andy Spencer each won four matches, while Drew Shepherd won two. Harry Hillier, Ben Sigel and Jake Scarrow won one each.
UP NEXT
Kansas will conclude the fall portion of the 2018-19 season at the Ka’anapali Collegiate Classic in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, Nov. 2-4. This will be the fifth-straight year KU will make the Hawaiian tournament and the Jayhawks have finished sixth or higher the previous four trips.
Big 12 Match Play Tournament Standings (final)
Pool A – 1. KANSAS (8)*; 1. Oklahoma State (8); 3. TCU (7); 4. Texas Tech (3); 5. West Virginia (1)
Pool B – 1. Baylor (12); 2. Texas (9); 3. Oklahoma (4); 3. Kansas State (4); 5. Iowa State (0)
Points awarded are 3 for outright match win, 1 for match tie.
*Kansas won the tiebreaker over Oklahoma State due to most holes won in its head-to-head match.
Pool A Results
Friday, Oct. 12
KANSAS d. TCU (3-2-1)
Oklahoma State d. Texas Tech (4-0-2)
KANSAS d. Texas Tech (3-2-1)
Oklahoma State d. West Virginia (4-1-1)
Saturday, Oct. 13
Oklahoma State A/S TCU (3-3-0)
Texas Tech d. West Virginia (4-1-1)
KANSAS A/S West Virginia (3-3-0)
TCU d. Texas Tech (4-2-0)
Sunday, Oct. 14
KANSAS A/S Oklahoma State (3-3-0)
TCU d. West Virginia (4-4-1)
Pool B Results
Friday, Oct. 12
Oklahoma d. Iowa State (4-1-1)
Baylor d. Texas (3-1-2)
Oklahoma AS Kansas State (3-3-0)
Texas d. Iowa State (3-2-1)
Saturday, Oct. 13
Baylor d. Oklahoma (4-1-1)
Kansas State d. Iowa State (3-2-1)
Texas d. Kansas State (3-2-1)
Baylor d. Iowa State (4-2-0)
Sunday, Oct. 14
Texas d. Oklahoma (3-2-1)
Baylor d. Kansas State (4-0-2)
CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND
CHAMPION – Baylor d. KANSAS (5-1-0)
THIRD – Texas d. Oklahoma State (3-2-1)
FIFTH – TCU d. Kansas State (3-2-1)
SEVENTH – Oklahoma A/S Texas Tech (1-1-4)
NINTH – West Virginia d. Iowa State (4-2-1)
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