Kansas searches for another top-three finish at Autotrader Collegiate
DULUTH, Ga. – The Kansas men’s golf team returns to action Monday at the Autotrader Collegiate. The event will be hosted by Georgia State at Berkeley Hills Country Club in Duluth, Georgia, and will take place from Oct. 15-16. The Jayhawks have had a top-three finish in two out of three events on the season, and currently are ranked No. 25 in the nation according to Golfweek.
Consistency from the top of the lineup to the bottom has been the key for the Jayhawks through the first three events. The team’s individual stroke average stands at a 70.94 while the highest individual round-average on the team is a 73.
“This season has just been a total-team effort,” said Jayhawk head coach Jamie Bermel. “We have guys playing well and also picking each other up when someone has a bad round.”
Bermel will send out the same Jayhawk lineup this week as he has in each tournament this season. Sophomore Andy Spencer will look to continue his impressive start on the season that has resulted in a top-20 finish in each event, thanks in part to an impressive 70.33 round-average. Out of his nine rounds on the season, Spencer has finished under-par in all but two.
“He’s been great in the first three events,” said Bermel, of Spencer. “He looks much more confident and poised this year than he did in his freshman year.”
Along with Spencer, another Jayhawk looking to continue his success will be senior Daniel Hudson, who is coming off of a third-place finish at The Jackrabbit. Hudson’s tournament-total of 205 was the best of his career, and was tied for the 11th-best 54-hole performance in program history. The other Jayhawk senior in the lineup will be Daniel Sutton, who, despite a shaky performance at The Jackrabbit, still maintains the second-best average on the team with a 71.56.
Bermel will also be sending out his two juniors, Charlie Hillier and Jake Scarrow. Hiller has tallied seven rounds even or under-par on the season, which is tied for the best on the team, while Scarrow saw an 11th-place finish at The Jackrabbit, which was the second-best finish of his time at Kansas.
Freshman Ben Sigel will once again be making an individual appearance, where he has shown signs of his potential, recording even or under-par rounds in four of his nine appearances.
The Autotrader Collegiate features 15 teams, four of which the Jayhawks have already competed against this season – Augusta, Georgia State, No. 46 Lipscomb and No. 40 Notre Dame. To Bermel, if his team continues its consistent play, it could result in the first win of the season.
“We are getting better each week and I still don’t think we have played our best,” said Bermel. “When we have a tournament where everyone plays well, I think a tournament win is very much the expectation.”
Monday’s first and second-round action begins at 7:30 a.m. CT, with live-scoring available every three holes at Golfstat.com.
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