The Kansas golf team is within striking distance of qualifying for the national championship tournament after the first day of play in the NCAA regionals.
The Jayhawks finished Round 1 action in Norman, Okla. in seventh place. Two more days of play remain, and KU has to finish among the top five teams in the tournament in order to move onto the national championships in Scottsdale, Arizona, later this month.
KU finished day No. 1 at even par at the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club on Monday. The Jayhawks are four strokes behind the number five team, Colorado.
KU was led by Olathe freshman Will King, who shot a 4-under par 68. That tied for the fourth-best score of any player in the tournament. King’s round was a breakout for the former Rockhurst High School player. His score was nearly five strokes below his season average. He showed late-season signs of resurgence when he finished in eighth place in the Hawkeye Invitational in early April. But in the recent Big 12 Championships, King finished in 33rd place with a 17-over par for the tournament.
KU’s top two golfers going into the tournament had mixed results on Monday. Junior William Duquette, who entered as KU’s second-ranked golfer, posted a 1-over par round of 73. But Junior Gunnar Broin, KU’s top golfer throughout the season, struggled with a 4-over round of 76.
The fact KU is still in the hunt after the up-and-down round showed the experience of the Jayhawk team, which features four juniors and one freshman.
“Regional play is a little different than a regular event,” KU coach Jamie Bermel said prior to the start of the tournament. “Every team is trying to be in the top five and advance. We don’t have to play great, we just have to play solid and eliminate the big numbers.”
KU is playing in its seventh-straight NCAA regional. The Jayhawks are competing against some familiar foes this week in Norman. Fellow Big 12 schools Texas Tech and Oklahoma are in first and second place, respectively, after the first round. Rounding out the top five are Alabama, Duke and Colorado. In sixth place, one spot ahead of the Jayhawks is North Florida at 3-under par. KU has a four-stroke lead over the eighth-placed team, LSU.
