John Burns Intercollegiate Starts Spring for Utah Golf

Date: February 15-17
Location: Ocean Course Hokuala | Lihue, Kaua’i, Hawaii
Par/Yardage: Par 72/7,156 Yards
Live Scoring: LiveCollegeGolf.com

THIS WEEK

After a fall season that included five tournaments and saw six different student-athletes earn at least one top 10 finish, the University of Utah men’s golf team is ready to get back to work and the Utes will begin the spring portion of their campaign in Lihue, Kaia’i, Hawaii at the Ocean Course Hokula, the site of the John Burns Intercollegiate, which will take place from Feb. 15-17.

 

The Utes posted their lowest tournament score of 2022-23 at the previous edition of the John Burns Intercollegiate, led by Braxton Watts’ 10-under 206. Watts didn’t post a single round over par across the tournament, including back-to-back 67’s over the final 36 holes that helped him earn a tie for 10th. Javier Barcos crafted the lowest round of his junior season on the final day, carding an 8-under 64 that pushed him 42 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for 21st and Go Nakatsukasa made his Utah debut by concluding the event at 1-under.

 

The Utes were even sharper when they visited Hawaii in the fall of 2022, placing third in an 18-team field. Barcos led the way in that instance, putting up a 2-under 212 that earned him a share of 12th and Watts also finished in the red at 1-under, placing him 20th.

 

UTAH LINE-UP

The Utes will have seven players on the golf course this week, with a lineup consisting of Brandon Robison, Braxton Watts, Gabriel Palacios, Javier Barcos and Sergio Jimenez and two individuals, Davis Johnson and Go Nakatsukasa.

 

 COACHES THOUGHTS: Head Coach Garrett Clegg

“We are excited to get the spring going,” said Clegg. “It is always awesome to be here in Hawaii. This is a tournament with a lot of really good golf programs and so it will be a good test of how we are playing to start the season. I know the boys are excited to get started and compete this week!”

 

THE FIELD

The Utes will be competing in a field of 20 teams in Hawaii and that list consists of Hawaii, Arizona, Arkansas Little Rock, BYU, California, Fresno State, Grand Canyon, Georgia Southern, Long Beach State, New Mexico, Saint Mary’s, San Diego State, San Francisco, Texas A&M, UC Santa Barbara, UNLV, USC, UTEP, Washington State and the Utes.

 

FALL RECAP

Barcos’ was…