UH-Hilo men’s golf coach Earl Tamiya makes two promises ahead of the 27th annual Amer Ari Intercollegiate.
No. 1: Tamiya will be sure to do a wind dance ahead of Thursday’s first round, hopeful that a strong gust picks up at Waikoloa King’s Course, providing the Vulcans will something of an equalizer.
“We always bring the wind machine,” Tamiya said with a smile
And second, the veteran coach predicts UHH will “finish top among the Division II field.”
That’s a safe bet, of course, because, as usual, the Vuls are surrounded by Division I powers and represent the only D-II presence.
Among the three schools ranked among the nation’s top 10 is No. 1 Oklahoma State. In all, six of 18 teams are ranked in the top 20, including 13th-ranked Texas Tech, the defending Amer Ari champion.
Five teams have been at every tournament since 1991 — Oregon, Texas Christian, Southern California, UH-Manoa and the Vuls, and numerous future PGA stars have played the Amer Ari, including Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth, Matt Kuchar and Notah Begay.
All-Americans in the field include Doug Ghim of Texas, Norman Xiong (Oregon), Scottie Scheffler (Texas) and Justin Suh (USC). Scheffler finished fourth at the NCAA championships last year and Xiong won the Phil Mickelson Award, given to the top newcomer in college golf.
“We look forward to this each season,” Tamiya said in a release. “We enjoy putting on one of the best tournaments in the country. I feel like those who play in this tournament will never forget the experience, including our own players.”
Starting at 7:30 a.m., 18 holes will be played Thursday through Saturday.
