Welle, Hanna Lead Jayhawks after Day One of Louisiana Classics

Day One Results

LAFEYETTE, La. – Following a day-one performance where four different Jayhawks are ranked in the top-15, the Kansas men’s golf team finds itself in third-place after shooting a two-round 563 (-13). Heading into Tuesday’s final round, the team will seek its seventh top-five finish and fourth title of the season, as KU sits just five strokes behind tournament leader Illinois (558).

Throughout the opening rounds of the event, Kansas was amongst the best of the 12-team field in recording scores under par. As a team, the Jayhawks carded a total of 35 birdies and two eagles, which are both tied for the tournament lead.

“We got off to great start in the morning round,” Kansas head coach Jamie Bermel said. “After getting our score to 17-under, we gave away a few on the last nine holes. I was really happy with Ben Welle and Chase Hanna, as they played really well today.”

After scoring a 71 (-1) in the first round, Welle fired back in round two, shooting a five-under, 68. The two rounds under par Welle carded on Monday, extended his team-leading rounds under par to 12. Welle will seek his second individual title of the season, as his score of 139 (-5) sits just behind tournament leaders Adria Arnaus (138, -6) of Texas A&M and Thomas Detry (138, -6) of Illinois.

Currently tied with Welle for third-place is Hanna, who has found success in the past at this tournament. With scores of 68-71–139 (-5) on the opening day, Hanna now has four rounds of scores under or even par in his career at Oakbourne Country Club.

Behind Welle and Hanna on the Kansas leaderboard is Welle’s senior classmate Connor Peck, who currently finds himself tied for 12^th. Following an opening round of 71 (-1), where he carded seven birdies, he backed that performance up with the same score in the afternoon. He enters the final round with a two-round total of 142 (-2).

The final Jayhawk to be featured in the top-15 is freshman Charlie Hillier. He continued his stellar play in opening rounds of tournaments, as his 69 (-3) in the morning marked the seventh time this season he has recorded a score under par in an opening round. After scoring a four-over, 76, in the afternoon, Hillier will look to bounce back and climb up the leaderboard in the third round, as he is currently tied for 14^th.

After scoring a 72 (E) in the opening round, sophomore Daniel Hudson extended his team-leading rounds of even par to seven. The 76 (+4) he scored in the afternoon, placed him tied for 44^th, where he seeks his fifth top-40 finish of the season. Competing in his third consecutive tournament of the season is sophomore Brock Drogosch. His two-round total of 148 (+4) is also good enough to be tied with Hudson for 44^th.

“Overall, it was a great team effort and we need to have another really good round on Tuesday.” Bermel said.

The third and final round of the Louisiana Classics Invitational will take place on Tuesday, where live stats and up-to-date scores can be viewed on golfstat.com.

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