Loyola’s Berry, Kansas claim Kaanapali Classic crowns
KAANAPALI — Brandon Berry was enjoying his trip to Maui before Sunday’s final round of the Kaanapali Classic Collegiate Invitational, but the smile on his face grew even wider after he won the event.
Berry, a Loyola Maryland graduate student who won the Patriot League title in the spring, finished Sunday at 16-under 197 with a final-round 66.
He beat playing partner Carson Griggs of Denver on the final hole they played in the shotgun start format — No. 8 on the Royal Kaanapali Course — by one stroke. Cal State Northridge’s Felix Schrott was third at 199.
“Feels great, my last event I lost by one — I doubled my 17th hole to lose by one — so to finish like I did today I’m so proud of myself,” Berry said under a sweltering West Maui sun. “I hit my first ball out of bounds and just fought all day, got lucky coming in, hit some good shots at a good time.”
He had five eagles over the 54hole event, including a 3 on the 519-yard first hole and a 2 on the 324-yard No. 7 in the final round.
“I had five eagles this week, which is just wild,” Berry said. “The first four were pretty normal, just like I hit really good shots on the par-5s, but on my 17th hole today I was in the bunker, in some trouble, not a great spot and I hit, like, one of the best shots of my life. It just landed on the fringe and trickled in. It was short side, it was a really tough shot and it’s probably what won me the golf tournament.”
Griggs three-putted for bogey on No. 8 as Berry looked on.
“I played with Carson today and he played so good, he deserved to win just as much as I did, he hit some unbelievable shots coming down the stretch,” Berry said. “Unfortunately his putt just trickled a little too far by on the last hole and he couldn’t make the comebacker. I’m sure he’ll have some great success coming up.”
Kansas, ranked No. 10 in the latest Bushnell/Golfweek coaches poll, ran away with the team title at
of Loyola (Md.) hits off the 14th tee during the final round of the Kaanapali Classic Collegiate Invitational on Sunday at the Royal Kaanapali Course.
52-under 800 behind the fourthplace individual finish of Callum Bruce (66–200). Colorado was 20 strokes back in second, four strokes in front of third-place Boise State.
The Jayhawks won for a fourth straight event and will likely move up in the rankings going into the winter break.
“It was good, we’ve been here quite a few years and this weather was absolutely perfect this week,” Kansas coach Jamie Bermel said. “Typically it gets pretty windy out here, but the wind really didn’t kick up and we took full advantage of that. Great team effort and we really played well.”
Kanata Irei, a University of Hawaii senior playing his final tournament before he returns to Japan after graduation in December, led the Rainbow Warriors at 4-under 209 after a 72 on Sunday.
“I really like this golf course,” said Irei, who tied for 23rd. “I played it two years ago, too, so I kind of knew what the golf course looks like. I kind of knew I’m going to play good this week, so it was more, like, just stay focused on what I need to do, just play my game.
“This is my last tournament, I’m not going to be back during spring, but I really enjoyed it, for my last tournament.”
Hawaii’s B team finished 12th in the 14-team event, at 872, while the Hawaii A team finished 13th at 882.
“We had all 10 of our players out, for the A and B team, that’s one of the real advantages of being able to play in Hawaii is we’ve got the short flight over and it’s a great thing to be able to have all the kids here,” Hawaii coach Scott Simpson said. “I mean, we didn’t play that well, but you gain a lot of experience, you learn what to work on. It’s just fun, it’s just fun to play in a college tournament. I think all our guys had a great time.”
■