Weather delays second round; Kansas in second

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Led by a great performance by senior Chase Hanna in his last regular-season event, Kansas found itself in second place through 11 holes of its second round Saturday, before play at the Great River Entertainment Invitational was suspended due to weather.

Taking advantage of a familiar Finkbine Golf Course, Hanna started the day off strong, recording three-straight birdies on his second, third and fourth holes. Adding another birdie on his card, Hanna made the turn at 4-under par. Despite posting his first bogey of the round, Hanna responded with a birdie on his last hole to finish the first round at five under par. Through 11 holes in the second round, Hanna is alone in fourth place, playing his first 11 at 1-over par.

“Chase had a great start with a 67, and the rest of the guys were right there as well,” head coach Jamie Bermel said. “It was very windy in the first round, but we were able to hang in there.”

Also using his experience, junior Daniel Hudson is in a tie for sixth place, playing the first 12 holes of the second round at 3-under par. Hudson started his day slow, playing the first 10 holes at 3-over par. Responding by collecting birdies on his 12^th and 16^th holes, Hudson posted a first round, 73. Playing the front nine of his second round at even par with two birdies and two bogeys, Hudson recorded a birdie followed by an eagle on the par-5 15^th before play was suspended.

Junior Daniel Sutton continues his consistent play, sitting at even par so far through the event. Sutton matched his three bogeys with three birdies in the first round to finish with a 72. Starting off with a bogey, Sutton was able to record three birdies before facing struggles for a triple bogey on the par-three 13^th. Keeping his composure, Sutton got another birdie before weather hit, playing the first 12 holes of his second round at even par.

Also at even par this far, freshman Andy Spencer is recording a strong second round, after facing struggles in the first round of the day. Playing steady at 1-under par through 15, Spencer recorded an unfortunate triple bogey on his 16^th hole, finishing the first round at 2-over par. Starting his second round off with back-to-back birdies, Spencer is at 2-under par through 12 holes.

Sophomore Charlie Hillier recorded a 74 in his first round. Despite opening the second round with a birdie, three bogeys puts Hillier at two over par through 12 holes. 

“We got off to a solid start to the second round before rain and lightning halted play,” Bermel said. “Dan Hudson is playing well and we have a couple of other good scores with about six holes to go.”

Gaining tournament experience as an individual for the second-straight week, sophomore Jake Scarrow is at 8-over par through 30 holes.

Kansas is in second place, just three strokes back from No. 11 Texas Tech, who sits in first at 9-under-par. The Jayhawks are two strokes in front of Iowa, with the remainder of the 14-team field over par through play so far.

“We need to play well on Sunday as there is a very good Texas Tech team ahead of us, as well as some right behind us,” Bermel said.

The second round will resume on Sunday with an 8:30 am shotgun start with the third round to be played immediately after.

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