Men's golf takes home third place finish at The Jackrabbit
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VALENTINE, Neb. – With top-20 finishes from senior Daniel Hudson, junior Jake Scarrow and sophomore Andy Spencer, the Kansas men’s golf team placed third out of the 13 teams that competed at The Jackrabbit. The Jayhawks ended the tournament 30-under, thanks to a 5-under performance during Tuesday’s final round.
“The course was playing much more difficult today than it has been,” said Jayhawk head coach Jamie Bermel. “We played well over the span of the three days.”
Hudson entered the day tied for third. After parring his first 11 holes, a bogey dropped him out of the top-five. The senior showcased his resiliency and picked up two birdies over his next three holes and three pars to close out his impressive tournament run. His 1-under 71 on the day dropped his overall score to 11-under, good for a tie of third-place and four-strokes shy of Santa Clara’s Hayden Shieh, who took home the individual medal.
“Dan didn’t have his best game (Tuesday),” Bermel admitted. “But he battled and made some clutch putts.”
His third-place finish is tied for the best finish of his career, which he recorded at the 2015 Badger Invitational. This marks the fifth time in Hudson’s career that he has come away with a spot in the top-five.
Both Scarrow and Spencer shot a 1-under 71 on the day, lowering both of their totals to 7-under, tied for 11th-place on the leaderboard. Both Jayhawks fell out of the top-20 late in the back nine, but Scarrow managed to birdie holes 17 and 18 while Spencer came through with consecutive birdies of his own on 15 and 16.
“Jake and Andy both rallied late, which was great,” added Bermel. “They both helped us secure a solid finish.”
For Scarrow, this marks the second-lowest finish he has recorded during his time at Kansas, as well as his second top-20 effort with the Jayhawks. For Spencer, he has placed in the top-20 in all three of the competitions the Jayhawks have competed in this season.
Junior Charlie Hillier made a late push of his own, as four bogeys looked to have plagued his scorecard before he pulled out three birdies in his final four holes of the round. Hillier finished even on the day, resulting in a 3-under finish on the tournament, good for a share of 28th-place.
Despite ending 1-over on the tournament, senior Daniel Sutton led the Jayhawks on the final day, boasting a 2-under 70. Sutton came up huge for the team on the final round, as he joined Hudson as the only Jayhawks on the day to have just one bogey on their scorecards. The senior was able to shave five strokes off of his second-round performance on Monday, and will look to carry that bounce-back-mentality to the next tournament.
Freshman Ben Sigel finished his individual performance with a 2-over 74, resulting in an overall total of 1-over. Although the freshman ended 2-over on the day, his round was highlighted by his second eagle of the tournament. This eagle came on hole No. 3, a 590-yard par-five that Sigel managed to sink in three.
With their second top-three finish in just three events, the Jayhawks will now shift focus to the Autotrader Collegiate, held at Berkeley Hills Country Club in Duluth, Georgia. The two-day event runs from Oct. 16-17 and will be hosted by Georgia State.
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