PROVO — Kihei Akina bogeyed the par-4, 466-yard first hole of his first NCAA golf regional Monday at University of Georgia Golf Club in Athens, Georgia.
It might have been the only miscue the star freshman at BYU made all day.
Akina carded four birdies to finish 3-under-par 68 and tied for eighth individually as the former Lone Peak High standout led BYU to fourth place after the first day of the NCAA Athens regional.
The freshman birdied holes No. 14-16 en route to 3-under 33 on the back nine, which his team scored at 8-under with nine birdies and a bogey.
Parker Bunn, Tyson Shelley and Peter Kim each shot 1-under 70 and all finished in the top 20. Simon Kwon shot 3-over 74 and is tied for 52nd.
“I was happy with the start we had today,” BYU assistant coach Todd Miller said in a news release. “We got rolling late on our first nine holes and really played the tough par threes well on our second nine.
“There are only three par fives on this course, and they are not automatic birdie holes like many courses our guys see,” he added. “I felt our management of those holes was what kept us from maintaining the lead we had. We were only one under on the par fives today, where Louisville, which is leading, was 8-under.”
Day one is a wrap, tomorrow’s gonna be another day ⛳️
📰: https://t.co/CpnkfWcQtX#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/8YMoCt2gVk
— Utah Men's Golf (@UtesGolf) May 18, 2026
The Cardinals shot 10-under to lead the team standings, led by Warren Thomis’ 5-under 66 to tie for second individually. Auburn and Vanderbilt are both tied at 7-under in the 13-team regional that advances the top-five teams to the NCAA national championships at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California.
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Utah opened up the first day at the OSU Golf Club in Columbus, Ohio, tied for 11th after carding 16-over. Sergio Jimenez is 11th individually with 1-over 72 to lead the Utes.
Florida was the only team to shoot under par at 7-under Monday. Memphis is second at 4-over, one shot ahead of Florida State and Stanford.
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