🏌️♂️ Cooper Keeps Kansas in Contention; Second Round Suspended Due to Weather
MARICOPA, Ariz. – Senior Davis Cooper is in a tie for fourth place after a season-low round of 66 (-6) to open the Cowboy Classic at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club and Kansas, as a team, is tied for fifth at -16 amongst the 23-team field.
The opening day of the tournament was slated for 36 holes but the second round was suspended due to lightning in the area. The last three-to-five holes of the second round will be concluded ahead of the final round Tuesday morning.
Kansas is led by Cooper, who sits 7-under and in a tie for fourth after a season-low round of 66 earlier Monday morning. Sophomore Will King is pacing the Jayhawks in the second round and is 5-under through 14 holes, which included a 32 (-4) on the front nine.
Grand Canyon leads the field at -27, followed by UNLV (-20), USC (-19), Iowa State (-18), St. Mary’s (-16), Kansas (-16) and CSU-Fullerton (-16) to round out the top five.
“We got off to a slow start today but really started playing well on the back nine,” Head Coach Jamie Bermel said after the day. “Davis really helped us in the first round. The second round is going fine, and we need to finish strong on the last few holes and play a good final round. Will King is playing well and we need to have everyone at par or better.”
ROUND ONE
In the opening round Monday morning, Kansas was paced by a season-low round of 66 from Cooper and bogey-free scorecards from seniors Gunnar Broin and Cecil Belisle.
Cooper’s round of six-under consisted of an eagle, five birdies and just one bogey. Cooper shot five-under over a stretch of four holes, going birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie. His eagle came at the 323-yard par-four 14th hole, and Cooper entered the clubhouse tied for the lead after the opening round.
Broin was next in line for Kansas scorers, carding a bogey-free round of 69 (-3) that included three birdies, all of which came on the back nine. Belisle followed suit of his fellow Minnesota native, keeping his scorecard bogey-free and shooting a two-under round of 70.
Despite being under-par for the majority of the round, King tripled the 18th hole to wrap up round one with a two-over 74. Before the triple, King recorded three birdies and just two bogeys.
Freshman Max Jelinek, who is competing as the individual for Kansas, posted a three-over 75 that included two birdies.
Senior William Duquette shot a 79.
ROUND TWO
After lightning put the second round of the tournament on hold, King, Duquette, Cooper and Belisle made it through 14 holes, while Broin has completed 13.
After an opening round of 74, King came out firing in the second and recorded a 4-under 32 on the front nine. Currently at -5 for the second round, King climbed 50 spots in the leaderboard and sits T27 at -3.
Cooper leads the Jayhawks in scoring and is tied for fourth at -7, just two strokes off the three-way lead (-9). Cooper is -1 through 14 holes and has recorded two birdies and just one bogey in the second round.
Broin is tied for 27th at -3 and is even through 13 holes of the second round. Broin birdied the first and fourth hole of the second round but let a pair of bogeys onto the card to even his score out.
Belisle is currently even for the second round and -2 overall for the event, sitting in a tie for 34th. Belisle has carded two birdies and two bogeys thus far in the second round.
Jelinek sits T87 at +4 and is one-over in the second round. Jelinek has picked up a pair of birdies and allowed three bogeys on the card.
Duquette found his groove in the second round after struggling in the first, currently at -1 in the second and +6 overall after climbing 11 spots in the leaderboard.
THE FINAL DAY
Kansas will continue the second round in a shotgun start beginning at 9:30 a.m. CT on Tuesday. The third and final round will be continued after the conclusion of the second round. The Jayhawks will be paired with UNLV (-20), Long Beach State (-7) and tournament host Wyoming (+7) for the final day. Live scoring for the round will be available on Golfstat. Fans can also follow live updates with the official Kansas Men’s Golf Twitter account.
