MORAGA, Calif. - The Saint Mary's men's golf team will escape the Northern California winter for the week and compete in the 48th John A. Burns Intercollegiate hosted by the University of Hawaii. The three-round event will take place from February 13-15 with a single round each day. The Gaels kicked off their spring campaign with a seventh place finish in last week's National Invitational Tournament in Arizona and will look for their fourth top-five finish of the season after recording three in their fall campaign.  

TOURNAMENT INFO

48th John A. Burns Intercollegiate | Lihu'e, Kaua'i | February 13-15, 2025
Ocean Course at Hokuala | 7,156 Yards, Par (72) 
Rounds: 3 | Teams: 18 | Individuals: 15 | Field Size: 100 
Format: 54 holes, 18 each day | 5 counts 4 | 9:00 AM Shotgun start

STARTING LINEUP

1. Connor Reis
2. Zack Missigman
3. Aidan Lee
4. Avery Lazarski
5. Go Nakatsukasa
Individual: Ian Bruchhauser

LAST TIME OUT (7th place at National Invitational Tournament)

Saint Mary's competed in the annual National Invitational Tournament in Tucson last week hosted by the University of Arizona. The three-round event featured three teams inside the top-40 and the Gaels were one of three WCC teams in attendance. Great weather and fast greens allowed for low scores as Saint Mary's found themselves in the hunt in fourth place after the first two rounds. 

First year transfer Ian Bruchhauser led the team at 3-under in the second round recording seven birdies while Zack Missigman, Aidan Lee and Connor Reis all finished 2-under-par as the three other counting scores. The Gaels were on track for their best ever finish in the event but double bogeys plagued them on the final day as they recorded three to fall back to seventh place.   

They still recorded their third top-ten finish at the NIT dating back to 2019 and their best finish in the event since 2020 when they placed seventh out of 14 competing schools. Avery Lazarski and Zack Missigman put together two of the best individual rounds of the week for Saint Mary's, combining to shoot 9-under-par in the final round. Lazarski led the team with a clean card, recording five birdies while Missigman recorded a team high eight birdies to battle his way to a 68 (-4). 

Utah transfer Go Nakatsukasa competed as the team's lone individual and made a nice push on the final day with a 69 (-3). Nakatsukasa jumped eleven spots on the individual leaderboard to finish t-38th and head coach Scott Hardy rewarded him with the fifth spot in this week's starting lineup. 

The John Burns Intercollegiate stands as one of the most respected and highly regarded college golf tournaments in the country. Saint Mary's will look for their first top-ten finish in the event since 2020 where the placed t-7th. The Gaels are one of 18 teams in a deep and competitive field and one of just two WCC programs with the other being Santa Clara.  

"It's always a special event when we compete in the John Burns Intercollegiate in Kauai" said Gaels head coach Scott Hardy. "The field is strong which provides great competition and opportunity to make a difference in our season. The Ocean course at Hokuala is an exciting mix of inland and ocean holes. This tournament has a great history as one of the longest running collegiate events and we are proud to be a part of it" (Hardy). 

Live scoring and additional tournament information can be found at smcgaels.com. Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information. 

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