WAILUA — University of Hawai‘i freshman Kotaro Murata took advantage of blue skies and near-perfect tournament conditions to fire a 2-under 70, Saturday during the final round of the John Burns Intercollegiate tournament hosted by Hawai‘i at the Wailua Golf Course.
Murata, native of Japan, picked up four birdies on this round, bringing his tournament total to 13. He finished the 54 holes with a 4-under 212, a tie for seventh place.
This was Murata’s second Top 10 tournament after he finished tied for 10th at the Amer Ari Intercollegiate in Waikoloa, Hawai‘i, two weeks ago.
Murata led the host Hawai‘i team to a 20th finish with an 895 total following its final day 298.
Sam Choi of New Mexico finished with overall medalist honors after posting a 10-under 206 following his final round 66 that included an eagle on No. 18. North Carolina’s Ryan Gerard finished as runner up, a stroke back at 207, and defending champion Peter Kuest of Brigham Young University finished in a tie for third at 210 following his 3-under 69 in the final round.
Texas A&M, led by Sam Bennett — tied for third at 210 following a 3-under 69 on the final round — won the team championship, its third Burns title, and second in the past three years with an 845 total, five strokes ahead of 40th ranked New Mexico who posted an 850, and No. 15 BYU getting the third spot with an 856.
Golfers on the UH team included Justin Arcano finishing at 222, Kanata Irei posting a 229, Nickolaus Nelson getting a 232, and Trevor Hirata settling at 250.
Individual UH golfers included Cole Yoshida finishing at 233, AJ Teraoka at 245, and Justin Ngan is two strokes back.
Hawai‘i men’s golf take the field next at the Grand Canyon Invitation hosted by Grand Canyon University at Phoenix, Arizona, March 13 and 14.
