The University of Hawai'i men's golf team will head to southern California for a return trip to the Bill Cullum Invitational, which runs Monday, Oct. 11 and Tuesday, Oct. 12 at The Oaks Club at Valencia in Valencia, Calif.
 
The Warriors participated in the Bill Cullum Invite from 2012-15 and most recently in 2018 where they placed 14^thwith an 896 total. UH's best finish was ninth in 2013. After 25 years at the Wood Ranch Golf Club in Simi Valley, the tournament moves to The Oaks Club at Velencia, which features a par-72, 7,115-yard layout.
 
"The course can play up to 7,200 yards long and with our team, length will not be a problem," head coach Scott Simpson added. "Like most golf tournaments, it comes down to hitting good shots and especially saving shots around and on the greens. I'm very confident we can continue to build on the good play we had at Fresno and keep improving."
 
UH's line-up for the two-day, 54-hole event is Isaiah Kanno, Matt Lloyd, AJ Teraoka, Tyler Ogawa, and Pierce Braun. The 12-team field, hosted by CSUN, will play 36 holes on Monday and 18 on Tuesday.
 
"We had a great competition during our qualifying and have a few new faces for the Bill Cullum than we did for Fresno two weeks ago," Simpson said. "Matt just missed going to Fresno, but continued to improve and has been playing some really good golf. He played well in the qualifier and left nothing up to chance this time and it will be great to see him in action at the tournament. Tyler and Pierce are both freshman who have been working hard and improved the past couple weeks. Both have eliminated the big mistakes that kept them out of the first tournament and they earned their trips to Valencia."
 
Teraoka, a senior from Honolulu, led the Rainbow Warriors at the Nick Watney Invitational in Fresno with a 7-over 220 total and tie for 27^th place. He entered the final round tied for 11^th after a career-low 70 in Round 2. Kanno, a freshman from Hilo, Hawai'i, tied for 60^th at 229.
 
"Isaiah and AJ have been the most consistent and best players for most of the fall," Simpson said. "It will be great to have them back leading the team."
 
In addition to CSUN and Hawai'i, the field includes five other Big West Conference teams – Cal State Fullerton, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC San Diego, and UC Santa Barbara. San Diego State is the defending tournament champion.
 
Hawai'i is off to a solid start under first-year coach Simpson. UH captured the season-opening HPU Sharks Shootout and placed ninth at the Nick Watney Invite, which vaulted the Warriors up to a Top 200 national ranking.
 
Following the Bill Cullum Invite, UH returns to the 50^th state where they will host a pair of tournaments to close out the fall schedule, the Hoakalei Country Club Invitational, Oct. 25-26 in 'Ewa Beach, O'ahu, and the Kā'anapali Classic Collegiate Invitational, Oct. 29-31 in Maui.

Tournament #3
What: Bill Cullum Invitational
Dates: Monday, Oct. 11 and Tuesday, Oct. 12
Course: The Oaks Club at Valencia
Location: Valencia, Calif.
Yardage (Par): 7,115 yards (72)
Format: Two-days; 54 holes (36 on Monday, 18 on Tuesday); 5-count-4
Host: CSUN
Field (12 teams): Cal State Fullerton, Cal State San Marcos, CSUN, Hawai'i, Southern Utah, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, Utah State, Utah Valley, Weber State
Live Scoring: Golfstat.com