Utah Golf’s Spring Starts in Hawaii at John Burns Intercollegiate

Date: February 16-18
Location: Ocean Course at Hokuala | Lihue, Kaua’i, Hawaii
Par/Yardage: Par 72/6905 Yards
Live Scoring: GolfStat.com or GolfStat app
 
THIS WEEK
The spring portion of the schedule for the University of Utah men’s golf team is finally about to get started and the Utes’ first trip takes them to Lihue, Kaua’i, Hawaii, where they’ll participate in the John Burns Intercollegiate, which will be held at the Ocean Course at Hokuala on Feb. 16-18.
 
This event, which was first played in 1977, has been a mainstay on the team’s schedule over the years and the Utes will be participating in it for the sixth time in the last eight seasons.
 
In the 2022 edition, head coach Garrett Clegg saw his team achieve one of the program’s highest finishes ever at the Burns Intercollegiate, placing third in a field of 18 and finishing strong by posting the lowest team score in the final round. Three Utes shot 70 or lower over the final 18 holes, including Javier Barcos’ 3-under 69 that moved him into tie for 12th with teammate Martín León, who had started the competition with a first-round 69. Also in red numbers was Braxton Watts, who carded a 70 on the first and last days to put him 1-under and in a tie for 20th.
 
THE FIELD

The Utes will be competing in a jam-packed field that consists of 21 squads, including No. 10 Texas A&M, No. 19 Arizona and No. 21 San Diego State. Along with Utah and Arizona, the teams representing the Pac-12 will be California, USC and Washington State.
 
UTAH’S LINE-UP
Utah’s first quintet of the spring will be made up of Barcos, Brandon Robison, Watts, León and Hunter Howe while Go Nakatsukasa will make his Utah debut playing as an individual.
 
COACHES THOUGHTS: Head Coach Garrett Clegg
“We are having an incredible time in Hawaii!” said Clegg.  “It is great to spend some extra days in the sun and preparing for our first event of the spring. I’m excited to see what each player is able to accomplish this week. We played well here last year, Braxton had a breakout tournament as a freshman and Martin played great here last year as well.  I’m very optimistic that we will be ready to compete on Thursday!”
 
FALL RECAP
The Utes are coming off a fall campaign highlighted by the play of Barcos, who crafted a stroke average of 72.0 and earned his first collegiate victory at the…