NAWILIWILI — The host University of Hawai‘i men’s golf started strong Thursday at the 45th John Burns Intercollegiate tournament contested at the Hokuala Ocean Course.
Collecting a combined 10 birdies and an eagle, the Rainbow Warriors rounded at 9-under par, tied for first place. But the back nine claimed the Hawai‘i golfers with a 14-over showing, limited to five birdies and six double bogeys.
Hawai‘i freshman Atsuya Oishi led the Rainbow Warriors, finishing 2-under 70. He was followed by four other Hawai‘i golfers who finished at 2-over 74 each to land the team in 13th place in the 18-team field. Hawai‘i finished the opening round at 292.
Arizona holds the lead team spot with a 275, fueled by a pair of golfers, Chase Sienkiewicz (34-33) and Johnny Walker (34-33) each carding 5-under 67 performances over the golf course that offers picturesque views of the Pacific Ocean.
Simon Kwon of California, playing as an individual, leads the field after firing a 7-under 65, a stroke back of Aaron Du of California and Shane French of Southern California. Leading Hawai‘i golfer Oishi sits tied for 17th place.
Round 2 of the John Burns Intercollegiate tees off starting at 8:30 a.m. shotgun start.
This is the first year Hokuala Ocean Course is hosting the tournament that was contested at the Wailua Golf Course for seven years.
Named after former Hawai‘i state governor John A Burns, the 18-team field includes seven that are ranked in the Top 100, including No. 64 Brigham Young University, No. 76 Saint Mary’s, and No. 94 Washington State.
Four of the participating teams are ranked in the Top 50, including No. 11 Texas A&M, No. 30 Arizona, No. 38 New Mexico, and No. 47 Utah.
