Thanks to an eagle on the par-4 13th hole Saturday, BYU freshman Kihei Akina remains in the top 10 of the player leaderboard in the 2026 NCAA Men’s Golf Championships at La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California.
Akina shot a 2-under 70 in the second round on the North Course and is tied for 9th on the player leaderboard. He shot a 1-under 71 on Thursday when BYU was playing alone, but that score will not be added to the official leaderboard until Sunday when the other teams in the field conclude their rounds.
So Akina currently sits at -6 for the tournament, which would put him at T7 if no other scores change in regards to par on Sunday. Obviously, they will.
The 18th-seeded Cougars, however, are in danger of not making the 54-hole cut in the stroke-play qualifying portion of the tournament.
Saturday, BYU shot a 2-over 290 and sits in a tie for 20th on the team leaderboard. But the Cougars’ tournament could be over, depending on how everybody else fares on Sunday when retiring coach Bruce Brockbank’s squad is not on the course.
Factoring in Thursday’s “third round” score of 1-under 287, BYU is currently at +9. The top 15 teams after Sunday’s third round advance to Monday’s final round of stroke play.
After Monday, the top eight teams make the match play portion of the tournament; A national champion will be crowned on Wednesday.
BYU made the cut last year, but did not get into the top eight for match play and tied for 13th.
Individually on Saturday, senior Tyson Shelley posted BYU’s second-best score, a 1-under 71, after a couple of rough rounds earlier in the tournament.
Junior Peter Kim added a 1-over 73, while freshman Parker Bunn registered a 4-over 76. Senior Simon Kwon shot a non-counting 6-over 78.
Akina posted three birdies and three bogeys on Saturday to go with the eagle, his second eagle of the tournament. He had one on Thursday when no other teams were playing, an accommodation the NCAA makes for BYU, which does not play on Sundays, for religious reasons.
Two Utahns — Boston Bracken and Jackson Mauss — are competing for Arizona State in the tournament. Saturday, Bracken of St. George shot a 73, while Mauss of Draper shot a 77.