LIHUE, Hawaii – The University of New Mexico Men’s Golf team has set off for the 50th state in order to compete in the John A. Burns Intercollegiate.
The tournament runs Wednesday, Feb. 18 through Friday, Feb. 20. Participants will play a total of 54 holes over the three-day tournament. The course is set to play at he 6,991 yards, with a par of 72. An 8:30 a.m., shotgun start will be utilized each day.
Last year the Lobos finished in second place with a 3-under score of 859 (295-283-281), seven shots behind eventual champion Cal. Last year, UNM had four players finish inside the top-20. The Lobos were the only team in the field to have all five team members finish in the top 20 among the 92 competitors.
This year’s event will be played on the Wailua Golf Course with a par of 72 and a relatively manageable yardage of 6991. Wailua is a municipal course, which played host to three USGA National Public Links Championships and has a Top 10 rating by Golf Digest as one of the best courses in the state of Hawai’i.
Five-time defending California will face a stout field including the likes of Arizona, Brigham Young, Fresno State, Hawai’I, Kennesaw State, New Mexico, Northern Colorado, Texas, Texas A&M, UNLV, Utah, UTEP, Washington, Washington State and Virginia.
The tournament, in it’s 40th year, began in 1977 and is considered the premiere collegiate golfing event in Hawaii. With a list of former participants and individual champions including PGA stars such as Notah Begay (1995) and Tiger Woods (1996) of Stanford and Oklahoma States’ Bo Van Pelt (1997).