KU men’s golf 2017-18 slate packs a punch

2017-18 Schedule

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas head men’s golf coach Jamie Bermel has guided the Jayhawks to back-to-back NCAA Regional appearances and part of that recipe for success has come in the form of a challenging and competitive schedule. That will not be changing for the 2017-18 campaign.
 
Bermel will lean on his upperclassmen, in seniors Daniel Hudson and Daniel Sutton and juniors Charlie Hillier and Jake Scarrow, to put KU back in postseason play and that journey will start on September 10 when the Jayhawks play the first of three days at the Badger Invitational in Madison, Wisconsin.  Hosted by Wisconsin, the event will be played at University Ridge Golf Course.
 
KU will return to the Maui Jim Intercollegiate, September 22-24, after a fourth-place effort last season. This time the event will be played at the Desert Forest Golf Club in Carefree, Arizona.
 
Following the Maui Jim, KU will compete in a couple of new events. First, The Jackrabbit October 1-3, at The Prairie Club in Valentine, Nebraska.  Then at the Autotrader Collegiate October 16-17, in Duluth, Georgia, at the Berkeley Hills Country Club.
 
The fall portion of the schedule will conclude November 3-5, when the Jayhawks return to the Ka’anapali Collegiate Classic in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, at the Royal Ka’anapali Golf Club. Kansas placed sixth in the event last season.
 
“We have put together a very competitive schedule against some of the best teams in the country,” Bermel said. “We will be playing against a lot of NCAA Regional qualifiers and several teams that played in the finals. This (schedule) should help us prepare for the Big 12 Championship and postseason play.”
 
Hudson’s best finish last season came at the Desert Intercollegiate when he tied for fifth at 4-under. KU will return to the Wyoming-hosted event February 16-18, at Classic Club in Palm Desert, California.
 
Sophomore Andy Spencer was the Jayhawks’ top finisher at the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate last season, and he will have that opportunity again March 3-4 when the Jayhawks play The Outlaw at Desert Mountain in Scottsdale, Arizona. Spencer is the only sophomore on the Kansas roster, but is joined by redshirt freshman Drew Shepherd and true freshmen Harry Hillier and Ben Sigel.
 
March 19-20, KU will make a stop at the Briggs Ranch Golf Course in San Antonio, Texas for the Lone Star Invitational.  Kansas State will host the Bighorn Invitational March 23-24 at the Bighorn Golf Club, as the Jayhawks make their second trip to Palm Desert.
 
In another new event, KU opens April at the Irish Creek Intercollegiate in Kannapolis, North Carolina.  The Jayhawks will be playing on the seventh and eighth at the Club at Irish Creek. Kansas will then return to the Hawkeye Invitational April 14-15, on the Finkbine Golf Course in Iowa City, Iowa.  The Jayhawks finished third in the event last season, only five strokes behind the winner.  
 
The Big 12 Championship is scheduled for April 23-25.  This year’s event will be held at the Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 
 
Men’s regional sites May 14-16 are: Raleigh, North Carolina (Lonnie Poole Golf Course, host: North Carolina State); Bryan, Texas (Traditions Club, host: Texas A&M); Columbus, Ohio (Scarlet Course/OSU Golf Course, host: Ohio State); Kissimmee, Florida (Reunion Resort, host: Central Florida); Norman, Oklahoma (Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club, host: Oklahoma) and Stockton, California (The Reserve at Spanos Park, host: Pacific).
 
The NCAA Championship, May 25-30, will be hosted by Oklahoma State at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater.
 
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