Ross Randall’s silver anniversary season as Kansas University men’s golf coach started much better than it ended.

Randall’s Jayhawks, who tied a school record by winning three tournaments during the regular season, placed fifth at the Big 12 meet and 16th at NCAA Regionals, missing qualifying for the finals by six slots.

“I thought for sure we’d get through regionals and go to the finals,” said Randall, who this school year begins his 26th season on Mount Oread.

“We were ranked third in our district. We won three events. We consistently had a top-25 ranking … but it ended on a low note.”

The good news is Randall welcomes back all but one golfer — Tyler Hall — off last year’s team, a squad hungry to atone for last year’s late-season troubles.

“Everybody else is back, and we’ve added a couple of guys, so on paper we should be pretty good,” Randall said. “We certainly have more expectations of this year than last year.”

KU’s top two returning players — seniors Andrew Price (Lake Forest, Ill.) and Kevin Ward (Leawood) — tied for 14th and 36th respectively at the Big 12 Conference meet. Price placed 45th and Ward 80th at regional.

“They were both top-75 college players in America all year. They improved from last year, and after playing all summer I would expect more of the same,” Randall said.

Ward won the Kansas Amateur and Missouri Amateur tournaments during the summer.

He upended KU teammate Pete Krsnich 9 and 7, in the Kansas Amateur final.

“Kevin just played excellent. It’s tough to beat anyone who only has one bogey,” Randall said of Ward’s near perfect effort at the Kansas Amateur.

Gary Woodland, a sophomore, returns after placing in a tie for 36th at league and 60th at regional.

“He has to be the longest hitter in college golf,” Randall said of the Berryton native who can rocket drives up to 345 yards. “If you can control it and also chip and putt well, you’ve got a chance to be one of the best.”

Sophomore Tyler Docking (Olathe) returns after tying for 17th at league and placing 114th at regional.

Also back are Krsnich (junior, Wichita), Ryan Rainer (junior, Norman, Okla.) Jason Sigler (junior, Leavenworth), and Luke Trammel (junior, Edmond, Okla.).

Barrett Martens, Joey Mundy and John Newcomer are also on the roster.

“I think we’ll be a lot deeper this year,” Randall said.

Newcomers are Zach Pederson, a freshman from Blue Valley West High, and Walt Koelbel, a freshman from Cherry Hills Village, Colo.

Pederson, a native of Spring Hill, is defending Kansas Class 6A state champion. He won the 18-year-old division title at the Kansas Juniors tournament.

“Zach is a very talented and long player. We were very lucky to get him this late,” said Randall about Pederson’s late summer commitment.

Koelbel is a pupil of John Ogden, who played golf at KU for Randall.

Randall hopes Kansas can make a run in the postseason this year.

“We hope we’re like Cal-Berkeley,” he said. “They were leading the NCAA Tournament and barely got into the regional and barely got out of the regional, making the NCAA finals.

“The Big 12 is a tough conference. It is one of the best. We know that, realize that and our guys are putting in the work it takes to play with the best teams in our league and in the country.”