HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i men's golf team returns to Ocean Course at Hokuala for the second consecutive year for the 46^th John A. Burns Intercollegiate, which runs Thursday, Feb. 16 through Saturday, Feb. 18.
 
The tournament has been held on the island of Kaua'i for the past eight years and moved to Hokuala in 2022 after seven years down the road at Wailua Golf Course.
 
"We are so excited to host the John A. Burns Intercollegiate at the Ocean Course at Hokuala," head coach Scott Simpson said. "Last year was our first year playing this Jack Nicklaus designed course and the tournament got rave reviews from all the players and teams. The Ocean Course at Hokuala is a fun, beautiful and really challenging golf course. It has some great risk reward holes right next to the ocean, and some inland holes that remind you of Jurassic Park. It is in great shape with some fantastic greens."
 
"The Burns" will feature a 21-team field including three that are ranked in the Top 20, headlined by 10^th-ranked Texas A&M, 19^th-ranked Arizona, and 20^th-ranked San Diego State. Eight others are ranked in the Top 100 – No. 53 BYU, No. 55 UNC Wilmington, No. 56 California, No. 57 Long Beach State, No. 63 New Mexico, No. 72 USC, No. 94 Washington State, and No. 96 Fresno State.
 
The rest of the field includes host UH, Grand Canyon, Loyola Marymount, Nevada, Sacramento State, Saint Mary's, Santa Clara, Utah, UTEP, and UNLV.
 
The highest individual ranked golfer is No. 8 Ian Gilligan of Long Beach State.

The John A. Burns Intercollegiate is named after the former Governor of the state of Hawai'i and was created by former UH head coach Robert Takano in 1977. Takano, who coached UH from 1976-82, passed away last year at the age of 89.

"We'll have a fun Coaches Challenge contest in the practice round as we remember Bob Takano," Simpson said. "Bob started the John A. Burns Intercollegiate in 1977 and he got to see it grow into the great championship that it is today, with top teams coming from around the country to play."
 
This year's field includes eight past champions who have won a combined 23 titles, including last year's champion, three-time winner New Mexico (2001, '05, & '22). Other past champions include Arizona (1992, 2003 & '04), BYU (1977, 2000 & '07), California (2011-15), San Diego State (2002), 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. Hokuala has been rated as a Top 10 top golf courses in the state by Golf Digest and Golfweek and was picked as one of the "World's Most Beautiful Golf Courses" by MSN Travel.

"We have one of the best fields in college golf coming to the Garden Isle and I anticipate another fantastic finish like we had last year," Simpson said. "It's a great thrill to welcome all these great teams, and to compete with them for the trophy!"
 
The Burns is the fifth tournament on the schedule for the Rainbow Warriors, who saw their spring opener – Amer Ari Intercollegiate – canceled last week due to high winds.
 
Tournament #5
Dates: February 16-18, 2023
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

Media Relations Contact: Derek Inouchi
Cell Phone: (808) 954-0234
E-mail: inouchi@hawaii.edu
Defending Team Champion: New Mexico
Defending Individual Champion: Aaron Du, California
 
Participating Teams (21):
Hawai'i, Arizona, BYU, California, Fresno State, Grand Canyon, Long Beach State, Loyola Marymount, New Mexico, Nevada, Sacramento State, Saint Mary's, Santa Clara, San Diego State, Texas A&M, Utah, UTEP, UNC Wilmington, UNLV, USC, Washington State
 
Tournament History
In its 46^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 second consecutive year.
 
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.