HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i men's golf team returns to the island of Kaua'i to host its longest running tournament, the John A. Burns Intercollegiate, which moved to Ocean Course Hokuala in Līhu'e. The 45^th edition will be held Thursday, Feb. 17 through Saturday, Feb. 19.
 
After being held at nearby Wailua Golf Course for the past seven years, Hokuala will host the tournament for the first time in the tournament's history. The picturesque course which MSN Travel picked as one of the "World's Most Beautiful Golf Courses," has been rated as a Top 10 top golf courses in the state by Golf Digest and Golfweek.
 
The John A. Burns Intercollegiate is named after the former Governor of the state of Hawai'i. "The Burns" will feature an 18-team field including seven that are ranked in the Top 100. Four teams are ranked inside the Top 50 – No. 11 Texas A&M, No. 30 Arizona, No. 38 New Mexico, and No. 47 Utah.
 
Other teams ranked in the Top 100 include No. 64 BYU, No. 76 Saint Mary's, and No. 94 Washington State. The rest of the field includes host UH, five-time champion California, Fresno State, Grand Canyon, Long Beach State, Northern Colorado, Santa Clara, UC Irvine, four-time champion UNLV, USC, and UTEP.
 
The highest individual ranked golfer is No. 7 Sam Bennett of Texas A&M while Sam Choi of New Mexico is the tournament's defending champion.
 
This year's field includes seven past champions who have won a combined 21 titles – Arizona (1992, 2003 & '04), BYU (1977, 2000 & '07), California (2011-15), New Mexico (2001 & '05), Texas A&M (2009, '18, & '20), UNLV (1991, '98, '99 & 2010), and USC (1986).
 
Participants will play a total of 54 holes over the three-day tournament at the 7,156-yard, par-72 course with an 8:30 a.m., shotgun start each day.
 
The Burns is the seventh tournament for the Rainbow Warriors this season and fourth in which they will have either hosted or co-hosted 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 #7
Dates: February 17-19, 2022
Format: Three-days; 54 holes (18 holes each day); 5-count-4
Time: 8:30 a.m. shotgun start each day
Course: Ocean Course Hokuala
Location: Lihu'e, Kaua'i
Yardage (Par): 7,156 (72)
Live Scoring: www.golfstat.com
Defending Team Champion: Texas A&M (2020)
Defending Individual Champion: Sam Choi, New Mexico (2020)
 
Participating Teams (18):
Hawai'i #252
Arizona #30
Brigham Young #64
California #106
Fresno State #133
Grand Canyon #111
Long Beach State #115
New Mexico #38 
Northern Colorado #154
Saint Mary's #76
Santa Clara #132
Texas A&M #11
UC Irvine #171
UNLV #119
USC #110
Utah #47
UTEP #161
Washington State #94
   
Tournament History
In its 45^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 from 2014-20. This year's tournament will be played at Ocean Course Hokuala for the first time.
 
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.