BYU freshman golfer Kihei Akina makes PGA Tour cut, earns 1st collegiate win

BYU freshman golfer Kihei Akina has turned heads after making his first PGA Tour cut and winning the R.E. Lamkin Invitational.

Hours after finishing at the Puerto Rico Open and making his first cut for the PGA Tour, Akina was on a plane to San Diego to compete in the R.E. Lamkin Invitational where he would go on to finish 14-under in the two-day event, a score that would give Akina his first collegiate invitational win.

With his great performances making headlines, Akina has reflected on the time period of success.

“It’s a little busy, but I really wouldn’t have it any other way,” said Akina.

Akina, the freshman phenom out of Lone Peak High School, has often drawn comparisons to fellow freshman AJ Dybantsa from the men’s basketball team.

At the Larry H. Miller Utah Open, Akina set the record for the youngest golfer ever to win the event in its 99-year history.

Photo by Fairways Media

He was also the first amateur to ever win the event.

Akina was also invited to the U.S. junior national team in high school and was a two-time 6A state champion at Lone Peak High School.

The amount of accolades that preceded Akina made him one of the most heavily recruited junior golfers in the nation, being recruited by over 50 schools.

With the recruitment and achievements that Akina had, a lot of expectations have followed.

But for Akina, he chose to tune out the voices and the outside expectations that may loom.

“I don’t really focus on expectations that much,” said Akina. “The only expectations I have are really just going shot by shot on the golf course and sticking to my process and sticking to my routine.”

Since deciding to come play for BYU, Akina has had some time to reflect on his decision.

“I wouldn’t really be able to imagine if I went to a different school,” said Akina. “I feel like I have matured a lot just being here at BYU as a person and on the golf course as well.”

The BYU men’s golf team is put together by head coach Bruce Brockbank and director of golf Todd Miller.

Miller and Brockbank were big reasons for Akina’s commitment to BYU and why he believes the team has helped him to become a better person.

“I knew if I came here I would develop and grow not only on the golf course but as a person I would mature and continue to grow my testimony,” said Akina. “The coaches were a big part of that recruitment for me.”

Other members of the BYU faculty have helped Akina in his freshman year at BYU.

Akina noted how much he enjoys his Western Humanities class and his religion class taught by Dr. Mark Ogletree.

BYU also has many different foreign language classes that are offered and Akina has been taking a Danish class that is taught by his sister-in-law.

The Danish class somewhat reflects his relationship with his family and how he loves spending time with them.

“I look up to my older siblings all the time, they’re big role models for me,” said Akina. “We have a big family from Hawaii and we value love and humility, so family is a big thing for me.”

When Akina isn’t golfing he is spending time with his family.

The Akina family has a lot of athletic talent and has produced many collegiate athletes.

Akina’s father, Alan Akina, played basketball at BYU-Hawaii; his older sister, Kiani, played rugby at Harvard; and his older brother Kawika played basketball at NYU.

Keanu Akina, Kihei’s other older brother, played golf at BYU from 2020 to 2024.

Kihei Akina is now heading into the end of his first season at BYU.

Akina has played a massive role thus far in the team's goal to return to the national championship after doing so in 2024.

“I feel like we have a lot of potential,” said Akina. “I think we’re going to really start to trend upwards in the right direction.”

The Cougars teed off in its next tournament Monday at the Bridgestone Collegiate Invitational in Napa Valley and Akina finished tied for fourth with a score of 3-under after round one.

The Cougars as a team finished first after round one.

The invitational will continue until Tuesday and then the Cougars will travel to Palo Alto, California, to compete at The Goodwin Tournament, Thursday, teeing off at 8 a.m. MDT.