No. 12 Cavaliers Open Spring at John Burns Intercollegiate
Story Links
Feb. 16, 2016
Charlottesville, Va. – The 12th-ranked Virginia men’s golf team opens the spring portion of its schedule this week in Hawaii at the 40th annual John Burns Intercollegiate. The 16-team field will compete at the Wailua Golf Course in Lihu’e, Kaua’i. The tournament runs Wednesday, Feb. 17 through Friday, Feb. 19.
Five-time defending champion California will take on a field that also includes Arizona, BYU, Fresno State, Hawai’I, Kennesaw State, New Mexico, Northern Colorado, Texas, Texas A&M, UNLV, Washington and Washington State.
The Cavaliers’ lineup will include senior Kyle Kochevar (Glen Ellyn, Ill.), junior Derek Bard (New Hartford, N.Y.), junior Jimmy Stanger (Tampa, Fla.) and sophomore Danny Walker (Bradenton, Fla.) and freshman Thomas Walsh (High Point, N.C.). Bard enters the tournament ranked No. 23 by Golfstat and No. 25 by Golfweek.
Bard leads the Cavaliers with a 71.29 stroke average and has been UVA’s top finisher in three of five fall events. He tied for first at the U.S. Collegiate and was fifth at the Kiawah Classic and DICK’s Challenge Cup. Danny Walker is second on the team with a 72.36 stroke average. Like Bard, he has three top-10 finishes this season.
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. It first played host to the John Burns Intercollegiate in 1978, the second year of the tournament. Participants will play a total of 54 holes over the three-day tournament at the 6,991-yard, par 72 course with an 8:30 a.m. HTZ, shotgun start each day.
California is seeking its sixth straight tournament title. During their five-year title run, the Golden Bears captured the first three crowns at the Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore of O’ahu before winning the last two times at Wailua. Virginia finished fifth at last year’s tournament behind an eight-place finish by senior Ji Soo Park. The Cavaliers shot 877 while Cal took home the trophy with a score of 852.
Virginia will be paired with Washington State, Arizona and Fresno State during the opening round.
Live scoring of the event will be on Golfstat.com.