HONOLULU – In what has become an annual tradition, the University of Hawai'i men's golf team will return to the island of Kaua'i to host its longest running tournament, the John A. Burns Intercollegiate. The 44^th edition will be held Thursday, Feb. 20 through Saturday, Feb. 22 at the Wailua Golf Course in Līhu'e.
 
Named after the former Governor of the state of Hawai'i, "The Burns" will feature a 21-team field that is arguably one of the toughest in tournament history. A total of 13 teams are ranked in the Top 100, including four in the Top 15 – No. 6 Arizona, No. 10 Texas A&M, No. 14 North Carolina, and No. 15 BYU.
 
In addition, this year's field includes seven past champions who have won a combined 20 titles – Arizona (1992, 2003 & '04), BYU (1977, 2000 & '07), California (2011-15), New Mexico (2001 & '05), Texas A&M (2009 & '18), UNLV (1991, '98, '99 & 2010), and Virginia (2017).
 
The highest individual ranked golfers are No. 24 Jack Trent of UNLV and No. 25 William Paysse of Texas A&M while Peter Kuest of Brigham Young is the tournament's defending champion.
 
Other teams ranked in the Top 100 include No. 28 California, No. 40 New Mexico, No. 43 Illinois, No. 57 Utah, No. 58 Long Beach State, No. 64 Saint Mary's, No. 67 Cal State Fullerton, No. 78 UNLV, and No. 87 Santa Clara.
 
Wailua is a municipal course, which played host to three USGA National Public Links Championships and has a Top 10 rating by Golf Digest as one of the best courses in the state of Hawai'i. It first played host to the Burns in 1978, the second year of the tournament, and returned as host in 2014. 
 
Participants will play a total of 54 holes over the three-day tournament at the 6,991-yard, par-72 course with an 8:00 a.m., shotgun start each day.
 
The Burns is the fourth tournament the Warriors will have played host this season – the Hoakalei Country Club Invitational (O'ahu), the Kā'anapali Classic Collegiate Invitational (Maui), and the Amer Ari Invitational (Hawai'i island).
 
Tournament #6
What: 44^th John A. Burns Intercollegiate
Dates: Thursday, Feb. 20 through Saturday, Feb. 22
Course: Wailua Golf Course
Location: Līhu'e, Kaua'i
Yardage: 6,991 (72)
Format: Three-days; 54 holes (18 on each day); 5-count-4
Host: Hawai'i
Field (21 teams): Arizona, Brigham Young, California, Cal State Fullerton, Grand Canyon, Hawai'i, Illinois, Long Beach State, New Mexico, North Carolina, Northern Colorado, Saint Mary's, Santa Clara, Texas A&M, UC Irvine, UNC Wilmington, UNLV, Utah, UTEP, Virginia, Washington State
 
Live Scoring: www.golfstatresults.com
 
Tournament History
In its 44^th year, the John A. Burns Intercollegiate is considered the University of Hawai'i's premiere golf tournament, providing some of the nation's top-ranked programs with the opportunity to compete against one another in the 50th state.
 
The annual spring tournament has seen tremendous growth since its first year in 1977. The tournament was held primarily at Kāne'ohe Klipper Golf Course before moving to Leilehua Golf Course in 2000 for an 11-year run. The tournament then moved to Turtle Bay Resort from 2011-13 and Wailua Golf Course on Kaua'i since 2014.
 
Among the who's-who of Burns champions include Bob Clampett, who won at Wailua in 1978, Steve Pate (UCLA, 1983), Notah Begay (Stanford, 1995), Tiger Woods (Stanford, 1996), and Bo Van Pelt (Oklahoma State, 1997). Oklahoma State has a won record six Burns titles while California captured five straight titles from 2011-15.
 
As governor of the state of Hawai'i, Burns longed to see the growth of UH's 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 PGA stars such as Notah Begay (1995) and Tiger Woods (1996) of Stanford and Oklahoma State's Bo Van Pelt (1997). Texas A&M's Chandler Phillips became the first back-to-back and two-time champion of the event (2017-18).
 
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.