KU’s Ben Welle looks to Carry Momentum into Badger Invitational
Sept. 27, 2013
KU’s Ben Welle looks to Carry Momentum into Badger Invitational
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas men’s golf will compete in its second tournament of the 2013-14 season at the Badger Invitational in Madison, Wis., Sept. 29-Oct. 1. Sophomore Ben Welle is looking to carry his momentum over from the first tournament.
Welle led the Jayhawks with the team’s lowest score (214, +4) and posted a top-20 finish in the Ram Master Invitational, Sept. 16-17, in Colorado Springs, Colo.
“I wasn’t even playing my best golf out there,” Welle said, who tied for 15th in Colorado. “I think I am going to play some better golf this week. If I finished top-20 and wasn’t playing my best last week, who knows how well I could do this upcoming week.”
Welle spent his first year of college golf playing for Scottsdale (Ariz.) Community College. As the year progressed, he started to catch the eye of Kansas head coach Jamie Bermel. Once the season ended, Welle thought about returning to Scottsdale for another go-around, but that all changed once he was contacted by Bermel.
“I wanted to go to the next level as soon as I could,” said Welle. “I was ready to stay for another season until Coach (Bermel) got ahold of me. I chose Kansas because it’s a higher level of competition and this is the next step for me in furthering my golf career.”
With Welle’s first season of division one golf is officially under way, he has nothing short of high expectations for himself and this year’s team.
“The sky is the limit,” Welle said. “I think I can do anything any other guy can do in this conference. It would be nice to win the conference both as a team and as an individual.”
Representing the Jayhawks alongside Welle at the Badger Invitational will be returning junior Stan Gautier and sophomore Jackson Foth, as well as transfer Logan Philley and freshman Chase Hanna.
The Badger Invitational will be played on a 7,259-yard, par-72 course at University Ridge Golf Course. The 14-team field, hosted by Wisconsin, includes Kansas, Austin Peay, Charleston Southern, Illinois State, Marquette, Northern Illinois, Northern Kentucky, Rutgers, South Carolina, UMKC, USC Upstate, Wofford and Xavier.
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