RCW: Sport Spotlight 4.12 (Men's Golf)
%20_v2.png)
Here is how the first round ended for #KUgolf at #kaanapaliclassic17. Shotgun start Saturday at 1:30 pm CT. pic.twitter.com/wsIW2QxWTu
— Kansas Men’s Golf (@KUMensGolf) November 4, 2017
Kapalua with the boys! #kugolf #collegegolfishard
A post shared by Kansas Men’s Golf (@kumensgolf) on Nov 3, 2017 at 9:36am PDT
With a third-place finish at the Ka’anapali Collegiate Classic, the Kansas men’s golf team has wrapped up its fall campaign with a top-three finish in three of its five events. The Jayhawks managed to edge out two ranked teams — No. 18 Boise State and No. 34 Wyoming — which resulted in a nine-spot shift up the leaderboard in Golfweek’s most recent team rankings.
Along with edging out ranked Boise State and Wyoming, the Jayhawks fell just four strokes shy of No. 14 California and five strokes behind No. 40 South Carolina. At The Jackrabbit, held in Valentine, Nebraska, from Oct. 1-3, the Jayhawks finished 13 shots ahead of No. 18 Missouri. After facing off against 10 ranked opponents, Kansas head coach Jamie Bermel has gained a better sense of confidence in his golfers.
“We have tried to upgrade the schedule each year and hope that it matches our talent level,” said Bermel. “Competing against these nationally-ranked teams helps us prepare for the Big 12 Championship since I believe seven of the 10 teams are ranked in the top 40.”
With No. 1 Oklahoma State, No. 6 Baylor, No. 8 Oklahoma, No. 14 Texas Tech, No. 19 Texas, No. 39 Kansas and No. 40 TCU all vying for the title of Big 12 champion, Bermel’s squad will need all hands on deck. And luckily, that is exactly what his team has given him.
The player average for the fall ended at a 71.13, which is 0.88 better than the team’s average last fall. Andy Spencer, Charlie Hillier and Daniel Sutton are all averaging under-par scores per round, while every Jayhawk in the lineup has at least one appearance in the individual top-20.
Following the second-most top-three finishes in a fall semester under Bermel, the Jayhawk golf team will now shift its focus to the spring semester, starting with the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate on February 16. The spring semester consists of six events before the team heads to Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the Big 12 Championship on April 23.
“We need to continue to get better so that when February comes around, we can be ready to compete,” added Bermel. “With our depth, I think the guys feel like they can compete and do well every event.”
