Tournament Program

HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i men's golf team will host the prestigious John A. Burns Intercollegiate, Wednesday, Feb. 20 through Friday, Feb. 22 at the Turtle Bay Resort's Arnold Palmer Course on O'ahu's North Shore.
 
In its 37^th year, the tournament features a 15-team field with three teams currently ranked in Golf Week's Top 25, top-ranked California, No. 4 New Mexico, and No. 25 Texas A&M. This tournament also features two of the state's Division II programs in UH-Hilo and BYU-Hawai'i. Rounding out the rest of the field along with host UH are Arizona, BYU, Colorado State, Denver, Nevada, UTEP, Utah, UNLV and Washington State.
 
Participants will play a total of 54 holes over the three-day tournament at the 7,218-yard, par 72 Palmer Course with a 7:30 a.m. start for the first and second rounds on Wednesday and Thursday. The third and final round of competition will begin with a 7:30 a.m. shotgun start on Friday.
 
Two-time defending champion California Golden Bears will be going for its third straight John Burns title, which hasn't been done since Oklahoma State won three straight from 1993-95.
 
In last year's tournament, Duke's Julian Suri went down to the wire with Cal's Max Homa, and went on to finish at 11-under 205.
 
UH will enter two teams – Black and Green – in the tournament with all 10 members of this year's squad participating. Junior Nainoa Calip will look to continue his strong play after posting the Warriors' top score of 222 at last week's Amer Ari Invitational on the Big Island.
 
The Warriors have finished ninth the past two years of the tournament since it moved to the Turtle Bay Resort. The tournament was previously held at Leilehua Golf Course for 11 straight years. Since 2000, UH's top individual finisher has placed in the Top 10 four times, including Matt Kodama's runner-up finish in 2002. Last year, T.J. Kua tied for eighth with a three-round score of 3-under 213.
 
Tournament #5
What: 37^th John A. Burns Intercollegiate
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 20 through Friday, Feb. 22
Where: Turtle Bay Resort's Arnold Palmer Course
Yardage: 7,218 (72)
Format: 54 holes (18 on each day)
Host: Hawai'i
Participating Teams: Arizona, BYU, BYU-Hawai'i, California, Colorado State, Denver, Hawai'i, Hawai'i-Hilo, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, UTEP, Utah, UNLV and Washington State
Live Scoring: www.golfstatresults.com
 
The late Governor John A. Burns
The tournament is named after the late governor of the state of Hawai'i, who wished to see the growth of UH student-athletes at a competitive level with the rest of the nation.
 
He took part in initiating statehood in 1959 and also started the planning and construction for Aloha Stadium – home of UH football and the NFL's Pro Bowl, as well as other island sporting events and music concerts.
 
Before he passed away on April 15, 1975 at the age of 66, Burns had a hand in upgrading UH's athletics program. Shortly after his death, his namesake tournament was founded. This tournament reflects back to Burns, the political power who was really a “sportsman at heart.”
 
In his later years, Burns often talked about young Hawai'i athletes needing support and opportunities to express and compare their athletic talent with other athletes from the U.S. mainland. Both of Burns' sons (John Jr. and James) took up golf as a sport as youngsters and they too found success on the courses. James qualified for the National Junior Championships and drew his father even closer to the junior golf programs. John Sr., was appointed as an honorary member of the Hawai'i Junior Golf Association in 1967.
 
When the now-defunct Hawaiian Open was included on the PGA Tour, Burns gave solid support and was named honorary chairman of the tournament committee. The success of that tournament, opened doors to the state for future events and soon became a regular stop for the PGA, LPGA, and Champions Tour.
 
The tournament that bears his name offers UH golfers an opportunity to compete with the best in the NCAA. Former participants and individual champions include future PGA stars such as Notah Begay (1995) and Tiger Woods (1996) of Stanford and Oklahoma States' Bo Van Pelt (1997).
 
Burns' dream has become a reality for Hawai'i's athletes, as many have gone on to professional careers. Because of his determination and the energy he put forth for the growth of this island state, John Burns' name lives on in sports circles as well as in the hearts of Hawai'i athletes and their fans.