HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i men's golf team will make its annual trek to Hawai'i Island for the 32^nd Amer Ari Invitational. The three-day event will run Wednesday, Feb. 8 through Friday, Feb. 10 at the Hāpuna Golf Course in Waimea, Hawai'i.
 
The Rainbow Warriors and sister school Hawai'i-Hilo are co-hosts of the event which is traditionally considered one of the top collegiate tournaments in the country and opens the spring season.
 
This year's tourney features 20 teams, including six ranked in the Top 10 – top-ranked Auburn, No. 3 Texas Tech, No. 4 Arizona State, No. 5 North Carolina, No. 6 Stanford, and No. 10 Georgia Tech. Six other teams are ranked in the Top 50 – Pepperdine (#14), Oklahoma State (#16), Texas (#20), Oregon (#26), Washington (#29), and TCU (#36).
 
Making up the rest of the field are Oregon State, Osaka Gakuin (Japan), Pacific, San Jose State, UC Davis, and UCLA.
 
Last year's field was considered one of the toughest in history with 16 of the 19 teams ranked in the Top 70, including six in the Top 10. Oklahoma State came from behind to edge Texas Tech by one stroke for its ninth Amer Ari team title.
 
The tournament is the fourth event of the 2022-23 season for the Rainbow Warriors. UH enters the tournament ranked No. 150 nationally with a scoring average of 290 per round. Last year, the Warriors placed 17^th with a 893 total.
 
The teams will play 54 holes over three days at the 6,895-yard, par 72 course. Tee times begin at 7:30 a.m., each day. Hāpuna became the home to the Amer Ari in 2019-20 after the closure of the Waikoloa Kings Course. Designed by Arnold Palmer and Ed Seay, Hāpuna Golf Course is one of the most beautiful courses in the world with seemingly endless views of the Kohala coast and drastic elevation changes.
 
UH's line-up includes Blaze Akana, Atsuya Oishi, Tyler Ogawa, Josh Hayashida, and Remington Hirano. Two others will be competing as individuals – James Whitworth and Isaiah Kanno. Among the group, only Ogawa competed in last year's event, finishing in a tie for 77^th place at 3-over 219. Kanno also competed as an individual last year and placed 111^th at 243.
 
Akana last competed several weeks ago in his first professional tournament at the PGA's Sony Open in Hawai'i where he carded rounds of 71 and 72 for a 3-over 143 total.
 
Tournament #4
What: Amer Ari Invitational
Dates: Wednesday, Feb. 8 through Friday, Feb. 10
Course: Hāpuna Golf Course
Location: Waimea, Hawai'i
Yardage (Par): 6,895 yards (72) 
Format: Three-days; 54 holes (18 each day); 5-count-4
Host: Hawai'i-Hilo, Hawai'i
Field (20 teams): Arizona State, Auburn, Georgia Tech, Hawai'i, Hawai'i-Hilo, North Carolina, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Oregon State, Osaka Gakuin (Japan), Pacific, Pepperdine, San Jose State, Stanford, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech, UC Davis, UCLA, Washington
Live Scoring: www.golfstat.com