KU Men's Golf Finishes Fifth at the Louisiana Classics Invitational

LAFAYETTE, La. – Kansas sophomore Chase Hanna led the Jayhawks in the final 18-holes of the Louisiana Classics Invitational as the team finished fifth at the Oakbourne Country Club, Tuesday.

The 14 teams fought windy conditions during the final 18-holes of the Louisiana Classics Invitational, with No.1 Illinois winning the tournament, shooting a three-round 278-279-288—845 (-19).  Texas State finished second, shooting 867 (+3), six-strokes ahead of third-place Louisiana 873 (+9).  Kent State finished in fourth shooting 875 (+12), one stroke ahead of fifth-place Kansas 876 (+13).

“We played fairly well on the front-nine and then made some careless errors on the back-nine,” Kansas head coach Jamie Bermel said. “If we can tighten those things up a bit, I think we can continue to make some progress.”

Top-10 finisher Kansas freshman Daniel Hudson led the Jayhawks in the tournament shooting a three-round 67-73-75—215 (-1) to finished tied for eighth in the 81-golfer field.  Hudson carded 11 birdies over the three-round tournament, recording his first Kansas career top-10 finish.  Behind Hudson was top-20 finisher Hanna who shot a three-round 74-71-72—217 (+1) to finish 11^th, recording his fifth top-20 finish in his Kansas career.

“Daniel (Hudson) had a solid event.  I think he grew up a lot this week and is starting to play like we thought he would,” Bermel said. “Chase (Hanna) had a nice event as well.”

Playing as an individual, freshman Spencer Painton finished tied for 25^th shooting a three-round 76-70-75—221 (+5).  Juniors Ben Welle and Connor Peck and redshirt freshman Brock Drogosch all tied for 41^st, Welle shooting 76-72-76—224 (+8), Peck 74-73-77—224 (+8) and Drogosch 74-72-78—224 (+8).  Thomas Detry of Illinois was tied for first after day one shooting 137 (-7), remained consistent in the final-round to win the tournament individually with a 203 (-13).

“We need to get the more experienced players playing better.  We had two freshmen in the lineup this week and another as an individual,” Bermel said. “I’m happy with the progress of the freshmen as they continue to get better, but we are lacking in experience in the lineup.”

The Jayhawks travel to in Phoenix, Arizona, to compete in the Desert Shootout at the Palm Valley Golf Course, March 19-21.

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