45th John A. Burns Intercollegiate
Dates: Feb. 17-19 (Thursday-Saturday)
Location: Ocean Course at Hokuala - Lihue, Kaua'i
Par/Yardage: Par 72, 7,156 yards
Live Scoring: Golfstat.com
Notes (PDF)
IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine men's golf will head to Lihue, Kaua'i, this week for the 45th John A. Burns Intercollegiate, Feb. 17-19.
The three-day tournament (Thursday-Saturday) will be held at the par-72, 7,156-yard Ocean Course at Hokuala. One round is scheduled for each day starting at 8:30 a.m. (HT)/10:30 a.m. (PT).
The Anteaters are part of an 18-team field that features four programs in the top-75 of the Golfstat rankings, including No. 11 Texas A&M, No. 30 Arizona, No. 38 New Mexico and No. 64 BYU. Also in the tournament are Cal, Fresno State, Grand Canyon, Long Beach State, Northern Colorado, Saint Mary's, Santa Clara, UNLV, USC, Utah, UTEP, Washington State and host Hawai'i.
Kolbe Irei,
Darien Zhao,
Nathan Irwin,
Henry Fitzhugh and
Johnny Bai make up UCI's 5-count-4 lineup.
LAST TIME OUT
Kolbe Irei claimed the individual title, while UC Irvine finished second at the Orange County Collegiate Classic last week in Coto de Caza. Tournament co-hosts UCI and Cal State Fullerton entered the final round in a tie for first, but it was the Titans who pulled away for the victory. Irei, who came in three strokes ahead of the field at even-par 216 (75-68-73), was the Anteaters' first individual champion since 2017.
Darien Zhao also tied for second at 3-over 219 (76-68-75) for his best collegiate finish.
Nathan Irwin (226) and
Henry Fitzhugh (227) added top-25 performances, tying for 21st and 23rd, respectively.
NEWS & NOTES
• UCI kicked off the spring season on one of its home courses for the fourth year in a row.
• The 'Eaters co-hosted the Orange County Collegiate Classic at Coto de Caza in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
• In 2019, they kicked off the spring portion of their schedule with the Anteater Invitational at Big Canyon CC.
•
Kolbe Irei earned his first collegiate victory, winning the individual title at the OC Collegiate Classic, Feb. 7-8.
• Irei came in at even-par 216 with a career-best 68 in the second round.
• He currently leads the squad on the season with a 72.92 scoring average.
•
Darien Zhao carded a 219 (+3) to tie for 2nd at last week's OC Collegiate Classic, marking his best collegiate finish.
• Zhao also fired a career-low 68 in the second round for his third sub-70 score of the 2021-22 campaign.
• He was UC Irvine's top finisher in two of the team's three fall tournaments and owns a season average of 73.33.
• Senior
Nathan Irwin had a top-20 showing at the season-opening Nick Watney Invitational (T19th).
• UCI carded its best 18-hole score of the year with a 277 in the second round of the Visit Stockton Invitational.
• Zhao, Irwin and Irei led the way in that round as all three registered a 2-under 69.
•
Johnny Bai ranks third on the team with a 73.56 average in nine rounds played.
•
Henry Fitzhugh has played in every tournament since his arrival at UCI in 2020.
• Four of the seven returning 'Eaters are seniors - Irwin,
Matt Gunson,
Ethan Han and
Trueman Park.
• UC Irvine also welcomes two newcomers in
Johnny Bai and
Jin Nakao.
• Bai, a redshirt freshman, graduated from Lake Mary Preparatory School in Florida.
• Nakao is a true freshman out of Burbank High School where he was an individual league champion.
• Back in November, UC Irvine signed Rei Harashima and Andy Zou to National Letters of Intent for 2022-23.
UP NEXT
UC Irvine has a week off from competition before making its way to Palm Desert, California, for the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate, March 2-4.