Men's golf says aloha from Hawaii
Lahaina, Hawaii – For the fourth-straight season, the Kansas men’s golf team will make the 3,800-mile trip to Lahaina, Hawaii to compete in the Ka’anapali Classic at the Ka’anapali Golf Courses’ Royal Course. The event runs from November 2-5 and consists of 19 teams including the Jayhawks. Of the 19 teams, three are ranked in the top-25 in Golfweek’s latest team rankings— No. 10 LSU, No. 12 California and No. 21 Kent State.
Despite a three-day forecast ranging from 75-81 degrees, the Jayhawks will have to factor the wind into an open Ka’anapali Golf Course.
“The difficulty of the course will all depend on the wind direction,” said Jayhawk head coach Jamie Bermel.
Over the past three seasons, the wind has resulted in some sporadic Jayhawk scores (841, 867 and 853, respectively) at the Ka’anapali Golf Course. Luckily, the Lawrence wind has proven helpful for Bermel’s team over the last two weeks.
“We have been practicing in very windy conditions this past week in Lawrence,” added Bermel. “Typically this course gets quite a bit of wind. If the winds are strong, the course can be very difficult. If there isn’t wind, there is a chance for a lot of birdie attempts.”
Once again, Bermel will send out the same five golfers he has leaned on all season. Sophomore Andy Spencer has been the frontman for the team so far, boasting a team-best 71.67 stroke average. Following Spencer is senior Daniel Sutton, who recently took over the title for lowest career average in program history (min. 45 rounds) with a 72.22.
Junior Charlie Hillier will look to follow up on his season-best 14th-place finish at the Autotrader Collegiate. Hillier’s eight rounds of even or under-par golf lead the team this season, and like Sutton, Hillier also snuck up the all-time scoring average list to third-best with a 72.88.
With an appearance this weekend, senior Daniel Hudson will jump into 12th-place on the all-time rounds played list in program history with 116. The four-year veteran is the only current Jayhawk in the top-15. Despite a shaky performance at the Autotrader Collegiate, Hudson’s season average is just a mere 0.83 over-par.
Rounding out the Jayhawk lineup is junior Jake Scarrow, who has shot even or under-par in four of his last six rounds. Freshman Ben Sigel will also be making his fifth individual appearance on the year.
All three rounds begin at 1:30 p.m. CT, with live-scoring available at Golfstat.com
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