LIHUE, Hawaii – Cal (291, +3) is tied for ninth place at the end of Wednesday's opening round of the John A. Burns Intercollegiate being hosted by Hawai'i at the par-72, 6,991-yard Wailua Golf Course. Sean Yu is Cal's top player on the leaderboard in a tie for 11th after firing a career-best two-under par 70 in his fourth round of collegiate golf.

"It was great to see Sean post a solid round today," said Alex and Marie Shipman Director of Men's Golf Walter Chun. "He looked much calmer than in Arizona (in his last event), and it's good to see him settling in. We'll need him to keep doing what he did today."

Yu started his opening round on the 12th hole and after playing his first six holes in one-over par caught fire with four birdies (and one bogey) over his next nine holes. He had birdies on the par-five first and ninth holes to bookend the run while also making birdie at the par-three third and par-four fifth. His bogeys came on the par-four 15th and fourth holes.

"Today I just had one of those days where I limited my misses, play conservative on the holes where the pins were tough and be aggressive when playing par-fives with a wedge in my hand," Yu said. "All in all it was a solid round for me. Staying very patient is the key."

Collin Morikawa is in 14th place after his one-under par 71 while others in the Cal lineup include Tanner Hughes (T40th, 73, +1), William Aldred (T80th, 77, +5) and Walker Huddy (T98th, 79, +7). Cal golfer Clayton Madey is playing the event as an individual and after his two-under par 70 is one of three players along with Yu tied for 11th.

Morikawa and Madey both made birdie on three of the course's four par-five holes with Madey adding a fourth on the par-four 16th.

Hughes had a team-high five birdies over his final 10 holes but also registered four bogeys and one double bogey.

Aldred equaled Hughes' team-high five birdies was near the top of the leaderboard early in his round after birdies on three of his first four holes but would register a pair of double bogeys and six bogeys over an 11-hole stretch. His fourth and fifth birdies came on two of his final four holes.

"We didn't have our best out there today," Chun said. "We had a good game plan, but we just didn't execute and didn't take advantage when we had some birdie opportunities. The players were frustrated for various reasons and that caught up to us. I do think all of the rain we got in the Bay Area leading up to this tournament had an effect on us and the rust showed. We still have two rounds to go and I'm optimistic. This is a resilient group of young men and I fully expect them to bounce back."

Fourth-ranked Virginia (268, -20) is the first-round team leader by eight strokes over Texas A&M (276, -12) while the Cavaliers also have the individual leader after 18 holes in Jimmy Stanger, who fired a 10-under par 62.

The 54-hole John A. Burns Intercollegiate continues with second and third-round action Thursday and Friday with shotgun starts scheduled each day for 10:30 am PT/8:30 am HT.
 
JOHN A. BURNS INTERCOLLEGIATE (HOSTED BY HAWAI'I)
LIHUE, HI
WAILUA GOLF COURSE (PAR 72, 6991 YARDS)
 
TEAM LEADERBOARD (after 1 of 3 days/1 of 3 rounds/18 of 54 holes)
1. Virginia (268, -20)
2. Texas A&M (276, -12)
3. UNLV (282, -6)
4. BYU (284, -4)
5. Santa Clara (287, -1)
6. Kennesaw State (289, +1)
T7. UTEP (290, +2)
T7. Arizona (290, +2)
T9. Grand Canyon (291, +3)
T9. Cal (291, +3)
11. Washington (294, +6)
12. New Mexico (295, +7)
13. Hawai'i (298, +10)
14. North Dakota State (299, +11)
15. Utah (301, +13)
16. Washington State (302, +14)
17. Northern Colorado (304, +16)
18. Hawai'i Hilo (316, +28)
 
PLAYER LEADERBOARD – INDIVIDUAL LEADER (after 1 of 3 days/1 of 3 rounds/18 of 54 holes)
1. Jimmy Stanger – Virginia (62, -10)
 
PLAYER LEADERBOARD – CAL INDIVIDUALS (after 1 of 3 days/1 of 3 rounds/18 of 54 holes)
T11. Sean Yu (70, -2)
^T11. Clayton Madey (70, -2)
T14. Collin Morikawa (71, -1)
T40. Tanner Hughes (73, +1)
T80. William Aldred (77, +5)
T98. Walker Huddy (79, +7)
^playing as an individual