Thunderstorms end day 1 at Shoal Creek Intercollegiate early

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Kansas men’s golf had planned to play 36 holes on day one of the Shoal Creek Intercollegiate in Birmingham, Alabama, Monday. Due to inclement weather, the second half of round two will continue Tuesday morning, which will be immediately followed by round three at Shoal Creek Country Club.
 
The Jayhawks found themselves 5-over par through round one, sitting in sixth place in the 14-team field. KU senior Charlie Hillier and junior Andy Spencer highlighted the first round with eagles on hole 11, shaving off four strokes to move KU into a three-way tie for third place. Charlie Hillier would collect three birdies on the front nine, finishing round one tied for third place overall with a team leading 3-under par. Spencer shot an even par on the front nine and would replicate his performance on the back nine. His even par is tied for 16^th in the 87-golfer field. North Florida’s Travis Trace leads the field at 6-under.
 
One shot behind Spencer is KU redshirt sophomore Drew Shepherd at 1-over (73). Sophomore Ben Sigel and senior Jake Scarrow, who is playing as an individual, are tied for 35^th after both carded a 3-over 75. Harry Hillier sit tied for 50^th after round one after he shot a 76 (+4).
 
“We need to get the ball in the fairway,” KU head coach Jamie Bermel said. “The bermuda rough is very penal and we didn’t do a very good job of getting our tee shots on the fairway. I thought the second round we looked a little tired and not very sharp mentally.”
 
Spencer maintained his focus as he birdied three holes on the front nine of round two. On hole 12, Spencer’s day was cut short by thunderstorms, leaving him with an even par on the day and tied for 14^th place heading into Tuesday.
 
“Andy looked solid today,” Bermel said. “Nothing out of the ordinary for him, just very steady.”
 
Harry Hillier would only manage to complete the front nine before getting rained out, collecting two birdies, which would bring him down to three over on the day. Charlie Hillier cooled off after his hot first round start and would finish 12 holes in round two with a score of four over par.
 
“The course is difficult out of the rough and the bunkers are not easy,” Bermel said. “I think if we can do a better job off the tee, we can play a lot better overall.”
 
Scarrow started round two with a bogey, but would quickly follow with a birdie. Scarrow would go on to par the remainder of the holes, finishing with an even par through the front nine. Sigel opened the second-round collecting birdies on holes one and three and would end the front nine three over par. Shepherd entered round two shooting an even par and would complete the first 12 holes of round two at one over par.
 
Texas A&M currently holds first place and leads the Jayhawks by 10 strokes. Round two will resume tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. Follow live scorecard updates via Golfstat here.
 
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