KU Men’s Golf to Defend Title at Hawkeye Invitational

LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Kansas men’s golf team will defend its title at the Hawkeye Invitational at Finkbine Golf Course in Iowa City, Iowa, April 12-13. The event is KU’s final tune up before the 2014 Big 12 Championship.
 
Last year the Jayhawks took home first place at this event when they finished with a three round score of 867 (+3), behind then-senior Chris Gilbert’s first place finish of 5-under par, 211.
 
The Jayhawk Squad this go around will consist of freshman Chase Hanna, sophomores Connor Peck and Ben Welle, junior Logan Philley and senior Ryley Haas.

Hanna continues to be the driving force for the Jayhawks as he is competing in his 10^th event of the season. Hanna currently leads the team with the lowest average, 73.1 strokes per round, along with the most top-20 finishes (4).
 
Joining Hanna in competing in their 10^th straight event will be Welle, who has the second highest finish of any Jayhawk this season when he finished in a tie for sixth at the Give ‘Em Five Invitational in El Paso, Texas, where he finished with a 209 (-7). Welle currently sits in second with the lowest team average with 73.4 strokes per round.
 
Philley is the third and final Jayhawk who will be seeing action in every tournament thus far as he looks to return to his under-par ways as he is just one of two players who has recorded under-par for the entire tournament twice this season. His most recent came at the Desert Shootout (March 20-22) where he carded a 207 (-9) placing him in a tie for eighth place, his best finish as a Jayhawk.
 
Peck will be competing in his seventh-straight tournament appearance where he is in search for his first top-20 finish in his collegiate career. Peck currently averages 73.6 strokes per round, which is the third lowest on the team this season.
 
Rounding out the Jayhawk five is Haas who is the only member of the squad to compete in this event last season. Haas looks to improve off last year’s trip where he recorded a 226 (+10), which placed him in a tie for 32^nd. Haas will be making his fourth appearance of the season behind an average of 75.6 strokes per round.
 
KU sophomore David Auer will also be making the trip as an individual.

The Hawkeye Invitational will be played on a 7,239-yard, par-72 course at Finkbine Golf Course. The 12-team field, hosted by Iowa, includes Kansas, Iowa State, Michigan State, Minnesota, Denver, Wisconsin, Marquette, Northern Illinois, DePaul and Nebraska. The tournament will be played over two days where the competitors will see 36 holes on Saturday Apr. 12 and 18 holes on Sunday Apr. 13.
 
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