🏌️♂️ Men's Golf Selected for 7th Straight NCAA Regional Appearance
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Kansas Men’s Golf team was selected to its seventh-straight NCAA Regional appearance on Wednesday. Coach Jamie Bermel and the Jayhawks will head to Norman, Oklahoma for the Norman Regional, beginning May 15 and going through May 17.
The selection marks the seventh straight regional appearance for the Jayhawks, who advanced to the NCAA Championship last year in Scottsdale, Arizona. Kansas is the No. 10 seed in the Norman Regional, with a fellow Big 12 member Texas Tech serving as the No. 1 seed and host Oklahoma as the No. 2.
The other teams in the regional include, (in seeded order): Alabama, Ole Miss, Wake Forest, Duke, LSU, North Florida, Colorado, Kansas, North Carolina Wilmington, Louisiana, Princeton and Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
The top five teams in the regional will advance to the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk, which begins May 26.
The Jayhawks were selected for Regionals, despite losing four players off their five-person postseason lineup from a year ago. Bermel’s squad finished second in three events this year and notched five Top 5 finishes throughout the season. The Jayhawks finished the regular season with back-to-back second-place finishes at the Cowboy Classic and the Hawkeye Invitational, before an eighth place finish at the Big 12 Championship.
“When you bring in some new guys, the standard is still the same, and we’re trying to advance. Any time you can play in May in college golf, that’s a good sign,” Bermel said. “When you get to May, the goal is to get to June. For us to be very good, we have to play tough as nails with no mental give up. When we do that, we’re a pretty good team. We had some new guys really buy into what we’re doing and played hard, and low and behold, we’re playing in May.”
Kansas has been led this season by newcomer Gunnar Broin, who leads the team in scoring average at 71.74. He has five Top 10 finishes to his credit this year, including a runner-up finish at the Hawkeye Invitational. He finished tied for 27th at the Big 12 Championship. Junior William Duquette, one of the only returners from last season, has also had a strong season with a scoring average of 72.47 and three Top 10 finishes. He led the way at the Big 12 Championship for Kansas with a T15 finish.
Newcomers Cecil Belisle and Will King have also had a major impact this season. Belisle had a strong showing at the Big 12 Championship, tying for 24th. His best finish this season came at the Gopher Invitational, where he finished tied for fourth. King, who took eighth at the Hawkeye Invitational for his best finish of the season, took 33rd at the Big 12 Championship and has a season scoring average of 73.21.
Junior Davis Cooper, another who saw time in the lineup last season, has also been a constant in the lineup this season, and finished 32nd at the Big 12 Championship. Redshirt junior Zach Sokolosky will also make the trip with the Jayhawks, who will travel with six in the postseason.
Kansas will have a practice round on May 14, before tournament play begins at 8 a.m., CT on May 15. Live stats will be available through Golfstat.
SEED LIST WITH GOLFSTAT (4/30) RANKING
(1) No. 5 Texas Tech
(2) No. 9 Oklahoma – Big 12 Champion
(3) No. 17 Alabama
(4) No. 20 Ole Miss
(5) No. 29 Wake Forest
(6) No. 32 Duke
(7) No. 41 LSU
(8) No. 44 North Florida
(9) No. 52 Colorado
(10) No. 56 Kansas
(11) No. 77 UNCW – CAA Champion
(12) No. 131 Louisiana – Sun Belt Champion
(13) No. 182 Princeton – Ivy League Champion
(14) No. 269 Arkansas-Pine Bluff – SWAC Champion
Individuals:
(1) Luke Gutschewski – Iowa State
(2) Nathan Petronzio – SMU
(3) Bret Gray – Sam Houston
(4) Vicente Marzilio – North Texas
(5) James Swash – Louisiana Tech
