LIHUE, Hawaii — BYU Men’s golf closed out the first round tied for fourth with a 1-over par 281 at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate at Ocean Course at Hokuala Thursday.
“Overall, I am happy with our demeanor on the course and the way the guys are striking the ball,” Director of golf Todd Miller said. “We had a tough time on holes 5-8. That is a stretch that traditionally plays tough, but we just hit some shots that were not stuck solidly.”
LMU made 20 birdies to lead all schools and sit in first place. The Lions posted a 4-under 276 on their scorecard. Texas A&M sits one stroke behind LMU in second with a 3-under 277 round one. After recording a 2-under 278 day, Long Beach State ended its 18 holes in third. UTEP, UNLV and New Mexico all share the fourth spot with BYU at 1-over 281.
Kihei Akina recorded a 2-under 68 on his way to a share of sixth on the day. Akina made six birdies which tied for the most in the field, including back-to-back birdies on his final two holes.
Tyson Shelley concluded his round with an even-par score and tied for 21st.
Peter Kim finished Thursday tied for 32nd with a 1-over par 71. Kim had all three of his birdies come from the back nine of the 7,156-yard course.
Simon Kwon carded a 2-over 72 to tie for 46th. Jackson Mauss finished his round tied for 69th after a 4-over 74 day.
While participating as an individual, Parker Bunn had a 6-over 76 first round to make him tied for 89th.
“I feel like we will be in contention if we continue to have good energy and play to the center of the green on the hardest holes,” Miller said.
Round two in Hawaii will tee off at 12 p.m. MST. Follow live scoring on Scoreboard and live updates on Instagram and X.