Hutchinson ? Kansas University’s men’s golf team, ranked 24th in the country, will tee it up at the Big 12 Conference championships today and Tuesday at Prairie Dunes Country Club.

Two-time defending champion Texas enters as the favorite as the country’s No. 7-ranked team, followed by Oklahoma State (eighth) and Oklahoma (23rd). Oklahoma State received the nod, however, in the pre-tourney coaches poll.

Texas was picked to place second, Oklahoma third and KU fourth.

KU senior Tyler Hall enters on a hot streak, having recorded four top-10 finishes in five tournaments this spring, including a second-place tie at at the Colorado-Stevinson Ranch Invitational.

Junior Kevin Ward collected the first victory of his career, taking the Louisiana Classics Invitational on March 9. Junior Andrew Price tied for seventh at the UCF/Rio Pinar Intercollegiate.

Freshmen Tyler Docking and Gary Woodland also had solid springs. Docking tied for third at the Roadrunner Intercollegiate, while Woodland notched fourth at the Colorado-Stevinson Ranch Invite.

For the year, Price leads the Jayhawks with a 72.21 stroke average. Ward’s average is 72.42, Hall’s 73.95, Dockins’s 74.0 and Woodland’s 74.36.

In spring tournaments, Hall has a 71.53 average, followed by Ward (72.11), Price (73.05), Docking (73.88) and Woodland (74.88).