West Lafayette, Ind. ? Kansas University’s men’s golfers struggled on the first day of the NCAA Central Regional and were in 22nd place in a 27-team field.
Oklahoma State (287) and Texas A&M (292) led the team standings.
Kevin Ward and Gary Woodland led KU with 77s, and Andrew Price was close behind at 79. Tyler Hall shot an 82 and Tyler Docking an 86.
Pinehurst, N.C. ? Kansas University’s women’s golf team is in 10th place with 320 strokes after the first round of the 22-team Carolina Collegiate Classic on Monday at the Pinehurst Golf Course. Sophomore Jennifer Bawanan leads Kansas with a share of eighth place, shooting a one-round score of 75.
Pinehurst, N.C. ? Kansas University’s women’s golf team is in 10th place with 320 strokes after the first round of the 22-team Carolina Collegiate Classic on Monday at the Pinehurst Golf Course. Sophomore Jennifer Bawanan leads Kansas with a share of eighth place, shooting a one-round score of 75.
Pinehurst, N.C. ? Kansas University’s women’s golf team is in 10th place with 320 strokes after the first round of the 22-team Carolina Collegiate Classic on Monday at the Pinehurst Golf Course. Sophomore Jennifer Bawanan leads Kansas with a share of eighth place, shooting a one-round score of 75.
Pinehurst, N.C. ? Kansas University’s women’s golf team is in 10th place with 320 strokes after the first round of the 22-team Carolina Collegiate Classic on Monday at the Pinehurst Golf Course. Sophomore Jennifer Bawanan leads Kansas with a share of eighth place, shooting a one-round score of 75.
Aiken, S.C. ? Andy Stewart and Travis Hurst sparked Kansas University’s men’s golf team to fourth place Monday after two rounds of the Cleveland Golf Collegiate Championships.
Stewart (76-72148) and Hurst (75-73148) were tied for 14th overall.
With a team score of 588, KU was 11 strokes behind frontrunner Wake Forest.
Other KU scores were Conrad Roberts (75-74149), Casey Harbour (80-70150) and Chris Marshall (73-85158).
The tournament concludes today.
Kansas University, led by Tiffany Kruggel’s 77, was in fifth Monday after the first round of the Carolinas Collegiate Classic women’s golf tournament. The Jayhawks shot a 323. Chrystal Thayer (80), Ashely Bishop (82), Heather Rose (84) and Jennifer Bawanan (87) also contributed to the team score. The tournament concludes with 18 holes today.
Team scoring: Georgia State 316, NC Greensboro 316, College of Charleston 318, Campbell 318, Coastal Carolina 323, Kansas 323, Memphis 323, Charleston Southern 323, NC Wilmington 327, Winthrop 328, Radford 329, N.C. State 331, Alabama-Birmingham 333, Penn State 334, James Madison 336, Longwood College 338, Jacksonville State 341, Elon College 345, Wofford College 346, Methodist College 346.
1. (tie) Patricia Martinson, Charleston Southern, 75; and Meaghan Francella, Memphis, 75. 3. (tie) Anna Molin, Georgia State, 76; Jessica Fought, NC Greensboro, 76; Briana Vega, NC Greensboro, 76.
6. Tiffany Kruggel 77, Chrystal Thayer 80, Ashely Bishop 82, Heather Rose 84, Jennifer Bawanan 87.
Opelika, Ala. ? Kansas University’s men’s golf team tied Clemson for 16th place after the first round of the NCAA championships Wednesday at the Lake Course at Grand National.
Fifteen of 30 teams will advance to the finals after today’s 18-hole round.
Kansas and Clemson finished the opening 18-hole round at 3-over-par 291 a stroke behind Auburn and Minnesota and a mere five strokes behind fifth-place teams New Mexico, East Tennessee State, Arizona and UNLV.
“We played all right. We had three pretty good scores and had to hide one,” KU coach Ross Randall said.
Four of the Jayhawks’ five scores counted in accordance with NCAA rules, with one getting tossed out. Jake Istnick tied for 13th after firing a 2-under-70.
Ryan Vermeer and Andy Stewart shot even-par 72. Conrad Roberts shot 5-over-par 77.
Casey Harbour’s 9-over 81 was tossed out.
“We had to count a 77 and Conrad played a lot better than that,” Randall said.
Roberts was 1-over at the turn, but shot a 40 on the back nine, dropping four strokes above par in a three-hole span.
Istnick had two birdies and 16 pars. Stewart had an eventful round that included an eagle. Vermeer shot 2-over on the front nine, then sizzled the back side in 2-under 34. He bogeyed the final hole.
“He hit a couple bad tee shots. It was one of those rounds where everything you try goes wrong,” Randall said of Harbour’s 81. “He drove it in the trees a couple times. It was one of those days every decision turned out incorrect.”
The Jayhawks are used to coming from behind in big tournaments.
KU started 20th after 18 holes at the NCAA regional, finally finishing eighth and qualifying for nationals.
Today, the Jayhawks must place 15th or better to advance to Friday’s round.
“We have to play a little better. We need to shoot under par,” Randall said. “We are OK right now. The real disappointment is we made 14 birdies and an eagle and still were not under par. We made a lot of bogeys.”
Randall said a berth in the finals is within the team’s reach.
“We didn’t play great, but we didn’t kill ourselves,” Randall said. “I’d much prefer we play real well the first round and not have to think about the cut. We made some late screwups and because of that we’ll have to come back and play better. It’s OK. We are in position. We will be fine.”
KU’s golfers were paired with players from TCU and Georgia State, a team making its first-ever NCAA appearance.
Texas leads after 18 holes with a 16-under-par score of 272. Georgia Tech is second at 280, Oklahoma State third (281) and Hourston fourth (284).
Individual leader is David Gossett of Texas, who shot 9-under-par 63. Teammate J.J. Wall is second at 65.
“A lot of guys played well,” Randall said. “It’s anybody’s tournament.”
Can Kansas do it again?
Can the Jayhawks, surprise winners at last year’s Big 12 golf championships, make it two in a row?
Anything’s possible, says 21st-year KU coach Ross Randall, who last year directed the Jayhawks to their first men’s conference golf title in 49 years.
“You win it once, if you play well you can be competitive again,” Randall shrugged. “At our last team meeting, we talked a lot about winning.
“Winning it last year helped every one of our guys with their self image. We were honored at halftime of a (KU men’s) basketball game and honored by the House and Senate. A bunch of great things happened. Who knows? If we play smart and play well, we have a chance.”
Oklahoma State, Texas and KU are the favorites entering the 2000 championships, set for today and Tuesday at Prairie Dunes CC in Hutchinson.
“That’s about right,” Randall said, noting the Cowboys are ranked third in the country, the Longhorns are 15th and the Jayhawks 20th.
Ryan Vermeer, who has won four tournaments, leads KU’s lineup and is expected to contend for individual medalist honors. Vermeer, a senior from Omaha, Neb., has a team-leading 71.16 stroke average, with a low round of 63 this year.
“The amazing thing he’s done is he’s played in 12 tournaments and has nine top 10 finishes. That’s really good,” Randall said of the country’s No. 19-ranked golfer.
Also competing for KU will be Andy Stewart (73.72 average), Jake Istnick (74.36), Conrad Roberts (74.13) and Casey Harbour (74.36).
The Jayhawk golfers will play 36 holes today, followed by 18 on Tuesday. A year ago, KU led after 36 holes and kept the lead through the final round.
“People don’t understand how grueling college golf can be,” Randall said. “The first day, we’ll be getting after it for 10 hours. I would like it to be just the way it was last year. To play well enough to be in the hunt and be close. You don’t want to be 15 to 18 strokes behind after the first day.
“You never know what is going to happen until you get out there,” Randall added. “The weather is always a big factor. Oklahoma State is traditionally a bad-weather team. They play in the wind and the cold a lot. We also play in bad weather a lot and tend to play well under adverse conditions. The wind tends to be part of the character of that course (Prairie Dunes).
“Par is a good score. Bogey sometimes is a good score,” he added.
Although the Jayhawks already have won three tournaments this school year, the Big 12 title would be the biggest win of all.
“We’ve only clicked a couple times, yet have won three tournaments and been nationally ranked,” Randall said. “I’ve seen what this team can do. Last year is behind us now.”
Brad Davis, who was expected to be KU’s No. 2 golfer this year, is out of action. He had surgery last week to remove a plate in his heel. Davis suffered severe back and foot injuries last year when he tumbled off an apartment balcony.
He should be back next season.
“They found bone spurs. It was causing him scare tissue and great pain,” Randall said. “With the plate out he’ll be pretty good.”