May 01, 2019

Men’s golf selected to fourth-straight NCAA Regional Championship

LAWRENCE, Kan.—For the fourth consecutive season, the Kansas men’s golf will be competing in the NCAA Regional Championship after receiving an at-large bid on Wednesday. The Jayhawks will be traveling to Stanford, California, to compete at the Stanford Golf Course. KU enters the region as one of 13 teams and will be competing as the No. 7 seed.

“It is exciting. Anytime you can continue play after the Big 12 tournament is a lot of fun and a lot of fun for the guys,” KU head coach Jamie Bermel said. “We are excited to continue that and see what we can do at the regional.”

This marks the fourth time under Bermel and the 21^st time in program history that the Jayhawks have earned an at-large bid. It is the first time has qualified for four straight NCAA Regionals since 2000-03.

The three-day event is set to begin on May 13. Other notable teams that will be joining Kansas in California are No. 1 seeded Arizona State, No. 2 Stanford, No. 3 LSU, No. 4 North Carolina State and No. 5 North Carolina.

KU enters the championship having placed inside the top-three in eight of the team’s 11 tournaments this season, including five of the six in the spring. The Jayhawks enter the region as the No. 37 ranked team in the country according to golfstat.com. Kansas has been led by senior Charlie Hillier and sophomore Harry Hillier who have finished as KU’s top individual performer in nine of the 11 tournaments.

“I think it is a pretty good draw for us,” Charlie Hillier said. “We get a lot of east coast teams, some south teams. From what coach has told us is kind of what we are used to, trees and rough.”

In order for the Jayhawks to advance to their second straight NCAA Championship, Kansas must place inside the top-5 of its region. That will earn a spot to compete for the title in Fayetteville, Arkansas, May 24-29. Along with the 30 final schools, the top-6 individuals from the non-qualifying teams will get a chance to compete for an individual title.

Despite the tough competition ahead, Bermel and his squad look forward to the chance to compete in the postseason once again.

“I think one of the keys to regionals is it is only 54 holes so if you can just be patient and not get too aggressive,” Bermel said. “You don’t have to play great in the regional to qualify you just can’t play poorly. It is all about getting off to a good start on the first day. If we do that then you gain some momentum and just keep doing what you are doing.”