The University of Kansas golf team went into Sunday’s final round of the Landfall Tradition tournament in 10th place. Glancing back to the rest of the season, it looked like Kansas would slip into the dark abyss of last place for the third tournament in a row.

But this time, the Jayhawks caught their foothold. They placed eighth in the 12-team tournament in Wilmington, N.C. The Jayhawks finished 31 strokes behind first-place finisher and nationally-ranked Virginia Tech. Their placing was the Jayhawks’ second-best team finish of the fall season.

The freshman class again gave a needed boost to the team over the weekend.

Brad Hopfinger led Kansas by finishing at even par yesterday, tying for 12th place and improving from his first round start in 22nd place. Hopfinger’s finish was a new career-best for the youn. Head coach Kit Grove said that he was impressed with Hopfinger’s consistency.

“Brad played really well for us, and this is his second straight solid tournament, which is a great sign for a freshman golfer,” Grove said.

Hopfinger’s freshman companion Nate Barbee also played solid golf for the Jayhawks. He carded his final-round finish at 74, only two above par, and finished in 22nd place overall. Barbee also showed improvement after ending the first round tied for 30th.

Junior Zach Pederson was the third Jayhawk to finish in the top 30, tying for 29th place.

The tournament marked the end of the fall season, and the Jayhawks have three months to improve on the rough first-half of the season. Coach Grove said he hoped the break would give them time to shift their focus to the spring.

“Now we need to head into a little bit of a break and shore up some things for the spring season,” Grove said.

Kansas resumes play in February when it tees off the spring season in the Hawaii-Hilo Invitational in Hilo, Hawaii.

­—Edited by Chris Beattie