Akina takes sixth at Western Intercollegiate, BYU finishes fifth

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — Keanu Akina carded a 2-over, 54-hole total to take sixth at the 76th Western Intercollegiate at Pasatiempo Golf Club on Wednesday as BYU finished tied for 5th.

No. 8 Pepperdine (345-328-361—1034) took home the team title after shooting 16-under-par to best No. 22 Oregon (335-352-356—1043) who finished second at 7-under. California (344-362-354—1050) finished in third at even par with No. 7 Stanford (339-359-370—1068) taking fourth at 18-over. No. 44 BYU (352-340-377—1069) and No. 24 Colorado State (352-359-358—1069) turned in matching 19-over-par totals to round out the top-5 in a tie for fifth.

Akina earned his second top-10 finish of the season as he turned in rounds of 66-68-74—208 to finish 2-under in a tie for sixth. The Kahuku, Hawai’i native carded 11 birdies in three rounds as well as a hole-out eagle on the par-4 16th hole during the 54-hole championship.

The junior, who began his career as a walk-on during the 2020-21 season, has now claimed seven top-25s and three top-6 finishes in his BYU career.

After a disappointing opening round in which Carson Lundell found himself tied for 71st, the senior fought his way to a tied for 27th finish after carding rounds of 74-68-73—215. He finished at 5-over for the tournament in windy conditions at Pasatiempo.

Zac Jones and Max Brenchley each finished at 7-over-par to earn a share of 34th place. Jones’ highlight of the tournament came in a second round 65 with six birdies in his final 16 holes to go along with rounds of 75-65-77—217. Brenchley carded eight birdies en route to rounds of 71-69-77—217.

David Timmins posted scores of 72-70-76—218 to finish tied for 42nd while Tyson Shelley rounded out the scoring for the Cougars with scores of 69-72-78—219.

BYU will return home to host the 58th Cougar Classic at Riverside Country Club on April 21-22 before heading to Washington for the West Coast Conference Championship on April 27-29.