Men's golf makes spring debut at Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Following a strong fall season, the Kansas men’s golf team will start its spring campaign at the Classic Club in Palm Desert, Calif., for the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate.

Jayhawk head coach Jamie Bermel will switch up the lineup for the first time all season— sophomore Andy Spencer, junior Charlie Hillier, and seniors Daniel Hudson and Daniel Sutton will return to the lineup, while freshman Harry Hillier will be making the first appearance of his career. The weekend of Feb. 10, the team traveled to Phoenix for a KU golf alumni match, where the freshman proved himself and earned a spot in the lineup. Along with the new-look lineup, junior Jake Scarrow will also be making an individual appearance for the Crimson and Blue.

The Jayhawks wrapped up the fall semester with top-3 finishes in three of five events. The individual average of 71.13 was the lowest mark for a fall semester since 2015. The low mark featured 16 rounds in the 60’s and 11 finishes in the top-20. Despite a successful fall season, head coach Jamie Bermel says the team has to be locked in to start of the spring season on the right foot.

“Coming out of the fall, there can be a little winter rust on their game,” said Bermel. “We’ll need to shake that off and just play our golf.”

This year marks the sixth-consecutive year that the team has opened its spring season at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate. The past two years, the team has enjoyed success at the event— finishing in fourth place in 2017 and winning the title in 2016. This year, the event features six nationally-ranked teams to go along with No. 41 Kansas— No. 1 Oklahoma State, No. 12 Texas Tech, No. 15 California, No. 21 UCLA, No. 25 Tennessee and No. 35 TCU. Along with a demanding field, the Classic Club course itself can be problematic.

“It’s a really strong field this week, and is going to be a fairly difficult course,” said Bermel. “This is a course where if you get out of position on the tee, we need to have the discipline to get back in position. If you don’t, it can add up to a big number.”

The first round begins Friday, Feb. 16, with Harry Hillier being the first Jayhawk off the tee at 9 a.m., CT. Live scoring will be available at golfstat.com.

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