2019 Ka’anapali Classic – Collegiate Invitational Returns to Ka’anapali Golf Courses October 31 – November 3
Ka’anapali Golf Courses – managed by Billy Casper Golf – will host golfers from 20 universities across America in the 2019 Ka’anapali Classic – Collegiate Invitational, October 31 – November 3rd on the Royal Course.
The sixth annual 54-hole, individual and team stroke-play tournament features the men’s teams from Boise, California – Los Angeles, California – Santa Barbara, Clemson, Connecticut, George Washington, Georgia, Gonzaga, Hawaii-Manoa (host), Kansas, Liberty, Northern Texas, Oklahoma, Sacramento State, South Carolina, Southern Illinois, U.S. Air Force Academy, U. of Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Sutee Nitakorn, PGA Director of Golf at Ka’anapali Golf Courses talks about the field, “It’s great to see Clemson back in this year after they won in 2016 and there will be some tough competition from Georgia and Oklahoma, who are always running for the team trophy.” Nitakorn adds, “The Ka’anapali event has traditionally hosted some amazing individual players, many whom we now see playing on Tour like Aaron Wise, Bryson Nimmer and Collin Morikawa – it’s a great way for the Maui community and those visiting Ka’anapali to come out and see these guys before they make it big on Tour.”
With the last two holes of the Royal Course with water coming into play, previous winners have clenched the title on these two final holes of the 54-hole event. The 17th short par 3 over water is known to beckon golfers to go for the pin and the final hole stretches along 440 yards of lagoon to a bunker protected green. Arnold Palmer once said that the 18th at Ka’anapali was “among the toughest holes on Tour.”
Previous tournament winners include:
| Year | Individual Champion | Team Champions |
| 2014 | Aaron Wise (Oregon) | Oregon |
| 2015 | Zach Healy (Georgia) | Oklahoma |
| 2016 | Doc Redman (Clemson) | Clemson |
| 2017 | K.K. Limbhasut (Cal) | LSU |
| 2018 | Sebastian Crampton (Cal) | California |
Walking spectators are welcome to watch the tournament daily on the Royal Ka’anapali Course. The official practice round on Thursday begins at 12:30pm (shotgun), with the tournament rounds beginning at 8:30am (shotgun start) Friday through Sunday.
Updates and scores will be posted on Ka’anapali’s Facebook page, Instagram @kaanapaligolf and #KaanapaliClassic19
About Ka’anapali Golf Courses
Built on 300 acres of land once home to Hawaiian royalty, Ka’anapali Golf Courses present golfers with pristine conditions and stunning views of the Pacific Ocean and West Maui Mountains.
Opened in 1962 and designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr., the par-71, 6,700-yard Royal Ka’anapali Course features wide fairways and undulating greens which make it both distinctive and demanding. The tournament-tested layout hosted the Champions Tour Ka’anapali Classic for 14 years, Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf, the Canada Cup and LPGA Kemper Open, welcoming Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Billy Casper, Greg Norman, Fred Couples, Jan Stephenson, Betsy King and other legends.
Complementing the Royal Ka’anapali Course is the modernized Ka’anapali Kai Course, which hosted Golf Channel’s “Big Break Ka’anapali.” Extensively renovated in 2005, the 6,400-yard, par-70 layout boasts an array of strategically placed bunkers, contoured fairways and resurfaced greens.
More information and engagement: www.kaanapaligolfcourses.com, 808.661.3691, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.
About Billy Casper Golf
Founded 30 years ago in cooperation with the late golf legend Billy Casper, the company is one of the largest owner-operators of golf courses, country clubs and resorts in the U.S. with over 150 properties across 29 states. Headquartered in Reston, VA with regional offices across America, BCG specializes in course and property maintenance, staffing, training, clubhouse operations, food-and-beverage, merchandising, golf instruction, marketing, public relations, special events and financial management.
BCG offers three tiers of management solutions; Spectrum, Signature and Select. In addition, BCG Ventures features proprietary, innovate programs including the annual “World’s Largest Golf Outing” and Casper Labs, the testing ground for FootGolf, Billy Casper Digital Network and other engaging programming. Buffalo Agency was also born out of BCG 18 years ago as a fully integrated marketing firm servicing golf, sport and lifestyle markets globally.
More information: www.billycaspergolf.com, 703.761.1444.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Melissa Dupuis
Ka’anapali Golf Courses
Cell: 808.357.7248
Email: mdupuis@kaanapaligolfcourses.com
