Freshman Chase Hanna Wins 2013 KGA Player-of-the-Year
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas men’s golfer Chase Hanna on Tuesday was announced as one of four people awarded the Kansas Golf Association (KGA) Player-of-the-Year for 2013.
In June Hanna set a record for margin of victory while running away from the field in the Kansas Junior Amateur at Winfield’s Quail Ridge Golf Course. A couple of weeks later he impressed the national golf media by setting a course record in the first round of the Western Junior against a field of some of the highest ranked junior golfers. Then in July, on his 19th birthday, he dominated the best Kansas amateur golfers at Indian Hills Country Club to win the 103rd Kansas Amateur Match Play Championship.
“Winning the state amateur is the pinnacle of state golf,” Kansas head coach Jamie Bermel said. “And for a young kid to do that is very impressive on Chase’s part.”
Hanna with these two wins became only the second person to win both the Kansas Junior and Kansas Amateur in the same year. The only other time this happened was by Johnny Stevens in 1960.
“When he came in this fall he played with a certain level of confidence,” Bermel said. “In the tournaments he looked like a seasoned veteran. He played great and always seemed to have himself under control.”
Hanna has carried his momentum into fall golf season as he led the Jayhawks in three of the five tournaments. During those three tournaments, he recorded a top-five finish and two top-20 finishes.
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