Men’s golf takes home sixth-place finish at Autotrader Collegiate
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DULUTH, Ga. – Led by a 14th-place finish by junior Charlie Hillier, the Kansas men’s golf team returned to Lawrence with a 6th-place finish at the Autotrader Collegiate. The Jayhawks’ recorded a 4-over 292 during Tuesday’s third-round action, and were able to finish the event with the most pars (177) out of the 16-team field
Hillier’s tie for 14th was his best finish on the season. The junior showed resiliency during Tuesday’s action, as he managed to not score over-par on a single hole after hole No. 5. His 12 pars on the day brought his tournament total to 40, just one away from the most pars in the tournament. This performance marked Hillier’s second top-20 finish of his career and the 12th of his career.
Just outside of the top-20 was senior Daniel Sutton, who finished at a tie for 23rd with a 7-over 221. Tuesday’s action was problematic for Sutton, as his 3-over 75 was the highest score of his tournament. Despite a shaky third-round performance, Sutton had the second-best overall finish for the Jayhawks.
Behind Sutton was junior Jake Scarrow, whose 6-over 222 found him at a tie for 29th, his fourth-best finish in his time at Kansas. Scarrow tallied a 3-over 75 on Tuesday’s third-round action, which in large part was due to a late birdie he was able to pick up on hole No. 15, a 552-yard par-five.
Senior Daniel Hudson came out with a 7-over 223, which was tied for 35th on the individual leaderboard. Though he had the fourth-best overall finish on the team, Hudson led the Jayhawks during Tuesday’s third round, as three birdies on the back nine dropped his score to a 2-under 70.
“(Dan) played like a senior today,” said Jayhawk head coach Jamie Bermel. “He got off to a good start and continued to play well all day.”
Freshman Ben Sigel’s individual appearance also ended with a 7-over 223. Back-to-back double bogeys on holes No. 2 and 3 plagued the freshman’s scorecard early, but he managed to tally three birdies in his final 10 holes.
Sophomore Andy Spencer ended the event at 11-over, which put him at a tie for 59th-place, marking the first time on the season where Spencer finished outside of the top-20. His third-round action got off to an unfortunate start, as he bogeyed three of his first six holes. Luckily, the sophomore negated his bogeys with three birdies over a 7-hole span, only to pick up another bogey on hole No. 15, bringing his third-round total to a 1-over 73. It was the second-best Jayhawk total on the day.
The team’s 17-over 881 was the highest score on the season, and in Bermel’s eyes, he believes it could have been prevented.
“We need to tighten up on the careless mistakes,” said Bermel. “We had way too many unforced errors. We have a lot of tournament experience and need to be much more disciplined with every shot.”
The Jayhawks will return to action on Nov. 3, at the Ka’anapali Collegiate Classic in Maui, Hawaii. This will be the fourth-straight season where the Jayhawks have competed in this event, of which they have taken home a fourth-place finish and two sixth-place finishes.
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