The No. 22 San Diego State men's golf team heads to Hawaii for the John A. Burns Intercollegiate, a three-day tournament starting February 12 at the Ocean Course at Hokuala. The Aztecs, fresh off a runner-up finish in their last event, will compete against a strong 17-team field including six other top-50 programs. Sophomore Harry Takis leads the team after securing his first collegiate victory last month.
The San Diego State Aztecs continue their 2026 season at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate, held February 12-14 in Lihue, Kaua‘i, Hawaii. Ranked 22nd in the latest NCAA golf computer rankings released on February 11, the team enters as one of seven top-50 squads in the 17-team field. Other ranked competitors include No. 19 New Mexico, No. 23 Utah, No. 30 Brigham Young, No. 32 Texas A&M, No. 38 UNLV, and No. 42 Long Beach State. The remaining teams are Hawai’i, California, Fresno State, Grand Canyon, LMU, Miami (OH), Missouri, Saint Mary’s, San Francisco, Santa Clara, UTEP, and Washington State.
The tournament features 18-hole rounds each day on the par-70, 7,098-yard Ocean Course at Hokuala. San Diego State’s starting lineup consists of sophomore Harry Takis, senior Tyler Kowack, senior Chanachon Chokprajakchat, sophomore Kai Hirayama, and junior Dylan Oyama. Junior Nathan Sampson will compete as an individual.
The Aztecs tee off Thursday at 9 a.m. HT (11 a.m. PT) from holes 10-12, grouped with Brigham Young, Hawai’i, and New Mexico. This marks SDSU’s fourth straight year in the event, following finishes of fifth in 2023, tied for fifth in 2024, and 12th in 2025. Historically, the program won the team title in 2002 and finished second in 2003, with John Lieber and Lars Johansson earning individual medals those years.
Coming off a strong showing at the Southwestern Invitational on January 26-28, where they placed second at 6-over-par 846 behind Pepperdine, the Aztecs saw Takis win his first collegiate title at 7-under 203 on the par-70 North Ranch Country Club course. That victory earned him Mountain West Golfer of the Week honors on January 29. Takis leads the team with a 69.50 scoring average through six rounds. It was the second straight tournament with an Aztec medalist, following Kowack’s win at the Marquette Intercollegiate in October 2025.
Now in its 49th year, the John A. Burns Intercollegiate is the University of Hawai’i’s premier golf event, named after former governor John A. Burns. Past individual winners include Steve Pate (1983), Notah Begay (1995), Tiger Woods (1996), Bo Van Pelt (1997), Ryan Moore (2005), Shotaro Ban (2015), Beau Hossler (2016), and Sam Bennett (2023). Oklahoma State holds the record with six team titles, while California won five straight from 2011-15. UNLV and Utah shared last year’s title, UNLV’s fifth.
After this event, San Diego State competes at the Southern Highlands Collegiate in Las Vegas from March 1-3, then hosts the R.E. Lamkin Invitational on March 9-10 at San Diego Country Club in Chula Vista, California.
