Julian Suri had to check his hardware at the gate on his way back from the 36th annual John Burns Intercollegiate Tournament in Kahuku, Oahu, Hawaii.
The St. Augustine, Fla. native shot a 2-under-par 70 in the final round to claim the individual title, beating out California’s Max Homa by four shots. Suri finished the tournament with 15 birdies while recording just two bogeys and one double bogey, finishing with an 11-under 205. The win is Suri’s second collegiate victory this season.
Suri attempted to take his trophy aboard the flight from Hawaii, but the crew did not allow him—forcing him and head coach Jamie Green to miss the team’s original flight home.
Despite the missed flight, Green was impressed by Suri’s level-headedness and poise throughout the tournament.
“Julian’s doing everything right,” Green said. “Julian has played so well this year, I don’t think it surprised anyone that he came out on top. He was doing everything from A to Z right. His mental game, physical hitting and course management were all right on point.”
Suri, who grabbed the lead from the get-go on the opening day of the tournament Wednesday, was able to keep his eye on the prize for the entirety of the tournament. Homa, who was neck-in-neck with Suri throughout the tournament, trailed Suri by just one shot entering the second round.
“There’s no scoreboard, so guys don’t really even know how they stand during the round,” Green said.
Blue Devil junior Brinson Paolini, who birdied the first three holes of the last round, finished the tournament tied for fourth at 4-under-par 212, seven shots behind Suri.
“Brinson and Julian had the best tournaments for our team. They really carried us,” Green said. “We didn’t give them enough help along the way.”
The Blue Devils, who closed out the tournament tied for second place with UNLV, finished seven shots behind California. The Bears won the team title with a 17-under-par 847, despite a slow start to the tournament.
“The lead was there for the taking on day one,” Green said. “We would have loved to play better the first day… but it was nice to see us gradually creep up that leaderboard and ultimately claim second place.”
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