The University of Hawai'i men's golf team will spend the week in Arizona for a pair of tournaments beginning with the Grand Canyon University Invitational, March 13-14 at the GCU Golf Course in Phoenix, Ariz.
 
From there, the Rainbow Warriors will next compete in the National Invitational Tournament, March 16-17, which is hosted by the University of Arizona in Tucson, Ariz.
 
UH will make its third consecutive appearance in the GCU Invitational after 12^th and t-13^th finishes in the last two years. Hawai'i competed in the NIT in back-to-back years in 2012 and '13 with 10^th and t-14^th place finishes, respectively.
 
At the GCU Invite, participants will play on the 7,239-yard, par-71 course, which re-opened in 2016. The field is headlined by fourth-ranked Texas Tech, which has four wins on the season. UH is one of four Big West Conference teams among the field.
 
Other participating teams include Bowling Green, CSU Fullerton, Columbia, Eastern Michigan, Gonzaga, North Dakota State, Omaha, Pacific, Samford, South Dakota, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UTEP, Valparaiso, and Wichita State.
 
UH's contingent for the tournament includes seniors Nick Nelson and Trevor Hirata, junior Justin Arcano and Cole Yoshida, and freshman Kotaro Murata. Murata is the reining Big West Conference Golfer of the Month after a pair of Top 10 finishes at the Amer Ari Intercollegiate and John Burns Intercollegiate and is the team leader with a 72.6 average.
 
Following the NIT, the Warriors will compete in the Duck Invitational, March 23-24 in Eugene, Ore., and the Western Intercollegiate, April 13-15 in Santa Cruz, Calif.
 
Tournament #7
What: GCU Invitational
Dates: Friday, March 13 and Saturday, March 14
Course: GCU Golf Course
Location: Phoenix, Ariz.
Yardage: 7,239 (71)
Format: Two-days; 54 holes (36 on Friday, 18 on Saturday); 5-count-4
Host: Grand Canyon
Field (18 teams): Bowling Green, CSU Fullerton, Columbia, Eastern Michigan, Gonzaga, Grand Canyon, Hawai'i, North Dakota State, Omaha, Pacific, Samford, South Dakota, Texas Tech, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UTEP, Valparaiso, and Wichita State.
 
Live Scoring: www.golfstat.com