The 31st annual UH-Hilo men’s golf team’s Amer Ari tournament features 10 nationally ranked teams and seven ranked golfers, including defending champion David Puig from Arizona State.
The three-round tourney runs Thursday through Saturday at Hapuna Golf Course and includes a 19-team field, including UH-Manoa and a host of Division I top teams, including No. 2 North Carolina, No. 3 ASU, No. 4 Oklahoma State, No. 6 Pepperdine, No. 7 Stanford, No. 8 Texas, No. 11 Texas Tech, No. 18 Auburn, No. 20 Georgia Tech, and No. 21 Washington.
The defending Amer Ari champion Sun Devils are led by Puig, a junior from Spain, who finished last year with seven top 10 finishes in 11 events and was named a second-team All-American.
The other top-ranked golfers are No. 1 RJ Manke, Washington; No. 2 JM Butler, Auburn; No. 5 Cameron Sisk, Arizona State; No. 8 Ryan Gerard, North Carolina; No. 11 Austin Greaser, North Carolina; No. 16 Brian Stark, Oklahoma State, and No. 18 David Puig, Arizona State.
“It’s always exciting having these big-time schools come to the Big Island and playing against them is a special bonus for our boys,” UHH coach Earl Tamiya said. “Hopefully, this will bring our university and our athletic department in the national spotlight.”
The Vulcans last played at the Dennis Rose Intercollege on October 27, when they finished sixth and junior Keith Ng shot a 68 to tie for eighth.
Despite the sharp climb in COVID-19 numbers, Tamiya is pretty confident all the teams will make the trip to Hapuna.
“We’ve got 19 teams, and nobody has bugged out,” he said. “I don’t think it’ll be canceled now unless something drastic happens.
“We’ve got seven of the top 10 (Division I) teams and six of the top individuals. It’s an amazing field.”
UHH junior Dustin Franko shot a 72 at Waikoloa and tied for 13th, and fellow junior Andrew Otani also carded a 72 and finished 32nd.
On the last day, 2020 Hilo graduate Ethan Hironaga shot a 75, Nick Gomez a 76, Noah Lau a 77, and Junghwan Lee a 79 at the Rose tourney.
“This tournament is big for them. They’ve been working hard,” Tamiya said. “We’ve had some COVID issues. Hopefully, it’s all said and done. We have to be careful and stay in our little bubble.
“Keith has been playing well, the only guy to shoot under par a couple of times. We’re expecting good things from him. He’s ranked No. 1 or 2 in the West Region. Hopefully, we’ll be respectful.”
