Kansas is ranked No. 1 in the country.
Not in men's basketball -- those polls won't be released for a month or so -- but in men's college golf.
"It's fun," KU golf coach Ross Randall said after reading the first edition of the Sagarin Ratings.
"Obviously it's early, but a lot of coaches think it's deserved after what we did in that first tournament. In my 20 years of coaching, I've never seen a college team throw out a 69. We didn't count a 69 in the final round."
The Jayhawks won the season-opening Nebraska Invitational by a school-record 35 strokes and a school record 12-under 272 in the final round at Firethorn GC in Lincoln, Neb.. Ryan Vermeer, who is the No. 1 ranked golfer in the U.S. in the Sagarin Ratings, won the tournament by nine shots (school-record 54-hole total of 68-67-67--202).
Andy Stewart, the country's No. 13- ranked golfer, matched Vermeer's final-round 67. Conrad Roberts, Brad Davis and Jake Istnick each shot 69. A team's best four scores shot, meaning the Jayhawks discarded a 3-under score of 69.
"Other coaches looked at the scoreboard and said, 'My gosh, they threw out a 69,''' Randall said.
"And that's the hardest course in the state of Nebraska. It is well known throughout the country. I've had calls from coaches saying, 'What in the world is going on?' To win by that margin is like winning by 80 points in basketball."
The Jayhawks buried runnerup Missouri by 35 strokes in the 11-team event.
Kansas will play host to the 17-team Kansas Invitational on Monday and Tuesday at Alvamar. The golfers will play 36 holes on Monday and 18 on Tuesday.
"I'm not going to alter the lineup," Randall said. "When we win by 35 strokes, I don't change the lineup.
"I was really pleased at our performance in Nebraska. Ryan won by nine shots. In college golf where there's a lot of parity, that's big. Andy Stewart didn't get to play last spring (on traveling team). He didn't like that and has been very steady."
As for Brad Davis, who played in his first tournament since falling from his apartment balcony and suffering severe heel and back injuries last May, he shot rounds of 78, 74 and 69 to finish 13th.
"The first day we played 36 holes. I was really watching him and asking him how he felt. He did fine," Randall said. "His back was a little stiff, but he did well with a 69 in the last round. He improved every round which was terrific."
-- Gary Bedore's phone number is 832-7186. His e-mail address is gbedore@ljworld.com
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