WAHIAWA — While Texas A&M was blitzing by Arizona and New Mexico to win yesterday's 32nd annual John A. Burns Intercollegiate, and Lobo freshman James Erkenbeck was blitzing everybody to earn medalist honors, the University of Hawai'i played polite host.

The 'Bows finished 14th in the 17-team tournament at Leilehua Golf Course. UH-Hilo — the only Division II squad in the Burns — was last.

Vulcan coach Earl Tamiya isn't worried about his extremely balanced team — "We still have our shot in the regionals," he said. Manoa coach Ronn Miyashiro is trying to be patient as he counts on his three freshmen to find their college golf games by the time the wide-open Western Athletic Conference Championship rolls around in two months.

Junior Robert Berton had the 'Bows' best showing for the fourth time this season, finishing at 70—212 and in a tie for 19th. Freshman TJ Kua, who has led UH in its other two events, was two shots back.

Erkenbeck blew through everybody with a 7-under-par 65 and a three-day total of 11-under 205. He won by one over Arizona sophomore Tarquin Macmanus, who opened with 64.

The team championship was even more of a shootout. Arizona, ranked 46th, took a six-shot advantage over 57th-ranked UNM into the last round. The Lobos passed the 'Cats by shooting 11-under 277 (best four of five scores), but 33rd-ranked A&M fired a tournament-low 272 to beat the Lobos by three. The Aggies' worst score yesterday was a pair of 69s.

Nearly half the golfers broke par in gusty conditions the last three days. That did not include Stephen Zane (73-219), Hilo's highest finisher in 53rd, or Punahou graduate Alex Ching (72-218). The San Diego freshman, whose grandfather passed away this week while he was home, tied for 49th.

Only six teams, including 22nd-ranked UNLV, failed to break par. That the host was one was tough to take, particularly for Hawai'i freshmen Jared Sawada (Mililani), Pono Calip (Kamehameha-Hawai'i) and Kua, whose scoring average the last two years at Kamehameha was just over 69.

The four-time ILH Player of the Year and Calip finished 2-3 behind Sean Maekawa at the 2007 State High School Championship, sponsored by Kua's uncle, David Ishii. Sawada, who has found everyone in college "a whole lot better than in junior golf," was a four-time OIA Player of the Year. Next year the trio will be joined by Kealakehe's Henry Park and Maryknoll's Alex Chu.

They too will feel the weight of a state on their backswings.

"I feel like I have to do well so other Hawai'i junior golfers will get the opportunity to play in college," Calip said.

Kua was even more specific.

"Every time I swing bad I feel like I let down somebody," he aid. "There's definitely a feeling of wanting the restart a golf program and get it going."

What is his advice for Park and Chu?

"The competition is a lot stiffer out here," Kua said. "You can play tournaments and set the bar higher than what people are playing. That would have helped a lot, if I hadn't just played to win, if I had played to win by a lot."