BYU Men’s Golf is in the house! We’re joined by Head Coach Bruce Brockbank and rising star Kihei Akina for an inside look at the program’s growth and success.
We dive into:
🏌️♂️ The lasting impact of Tony Finau & Mike Weir
🌟 Kihei’s PGA Tour debut on a sponsor exemption
📈 What it means to be a Preseason All-American
⛳ How BYU is building a national contender in college golf
An awesome conversation with two key figures driving BYU Golf forward. Don’t miss it!
#BYUGolf #KiheiAkina #BruceBrockbank #TonyFinau #PGA #CollegeGolf #GoCougs #BYUSports
to win the Utah Open. >> Nice. >> Welcome back to BYU Sports Nation. We are live in studio B and joining us now, as promised are the head coach of BYU men’s golf Bruce Brockbank, and one of his heralded outstanding recruits who is now making his impact on BYU men’s team Kihei Akina. Great to have both of you gentlemen with us. >> What’s up guys, how’s it going? >> Good, good. Thanks for having us. >> Absolutely. This has been a fun week for BYU golf. It started on Monday with Cougar Day. And when you have Tony Finau in the mix and you got a masters champion and Mike Weir there Bruce hard not to get nostalgic and feel super excited about that. >> For sure. Anytime. You know Carl Tucker started that 65 years ago and the tradition continues. And to have the past players come back and then all the boosters and sponsors of the event, it’s just a wonderful day and it’s great for our student athletes. They get a feel for what they hear all the time about the tradition and and of BYU golf, and that’s front and center for sure. >> And those relationships are awesome. You’ve been here over 30 years. You, your your kids, if you will, from the team continue to grow. How’d Spencer do, by the way? Is he Missy. >> Unbelievable. >> Of course he did. >> Yeah. Crushed it. It just doesn’t get any better. >> Bruce is my hype man, Jarom. He’s my hype man. >> I thought I was hype man. Bruce bringing it today. Yeah. >> Let’s go. >> I appreciate that guy. What’s it like for you to visit with a guy like Tony Finau and Mike Weir for that matter? And what type of advice are they giving to you at this point of your career? >> Yeah, those those two guys are are legends in the state of Utah. So it was cool to I played with them a few times. So I’m just lucky to kind of learn from them. You know they’re they’re two in terms of players. They’re almost two opposite players. Tony obviously bombs it and we’re Z is you know master with the wedge and short game. So you know learning certain things from both of them and taking them. And it’s it’s cool. >> You have a relationship with a lot of these guys already. But what’s it like to hang out and have a casual interaction where you’re not competing, but you want to win, you play and you get to know all these guys before you even suit up for BYU. >> Yeah. It’s cool. Tony spends a lot of time in Hawaii. So we’ll see him there and, you know, hanging out, gotten to know his his kids pretty well. And we know his family really well. So, you know, just hanging around with them, you know, it’s greatness. So it’s it’s obviously pretty cool. >> It was a big weekend for them because they posted on Instagram that Tony and his wife both spoke in church. So it was a big weekend. >> Real pressure. That’s a pressure cooker. That’s pressure. I would argue. >> That Sunday was bigger than Monday. >> Great stuff. >> It was a day off. >> For him. >> Bruce, out of curiosity, we know that you had ties to his older brother Keanu, who was a great player for BYU in his own right and a multi-sport star. But when did Kihei first get onto your radar and when did that recruitment process begin? >> You know, I think we were talking about Kihei maybe a year after, you know, we saw Keanu play. You know, I was out watching the Lone Peak Boys, right? The Benchley’s and the Blundell’s and whatever. And there was this PG guy that kept shooting 64, 65. And I said, who is this kid? Right. And then you hear, you know, you put Keanu in that spot and and you know, you just that doesn’t happen. Your kid’s got to have something if he’s shooting those kind of scores. And so it was easy for me to, you know, kind of he’d got my attention quite a bit. And so I’d go watch him. And then he, you know, shooting those scores. He’s playing with the guys that were watching anyway. So it was really fun to to have a chance to, to watch him under those circumstances and then to see how it’s all played out because he had to, you know, he traveled a tough road. He had to try out and didn’t make it the first time, and then came back the next time and then became a big impact player for us. It was. But what a competitor and what an athlete. And it’s in the genes in that family. >> And it’s clearly. >> He’s got a little bit of that too. >> When did you start to love golf? When when did this begin? >> You know, when we moved here to Utah from Hawaii. I was about ten years old, and that’s when I played my first tournament. And and from there, I kind of just got a little bit better each year. And, and that’s when I kind of started to like golf. I, I played basketball growing up mainly, and so I kind of transitioned into golf. So I think around 12, 13, that’s when I started to realize that that golf was my thing. >> Can you can you take Keanu in basketball? Because we famously showed him putting up buckets against LaMelo ball. >> Basketball, I don’t know. >> We got him in golf. >> Golf I can get him sometimes. But basketball, he’s got me there. >> Sometimes we love. Yeah sometimes. >> That’s the humble answer. >> Absolutely. Kihei Akina and Bruce Brockbank are with us on BYU Sports Nation. When you look at the team as an overall entity, Bruce coming off finishing 13th at nationals and winning a regional in Reno and crazy conditions. What’s the next step for this, for this program? Because you do feel optimistic about the direction that you’re headed as a team. >> For sure. We have you know, we’ve got a great group of guys. We lost some very pivotal players last year and and Zach Jones and Köpenick and but we’ve got some guys that, you know, they’re ready to fill in. And you know what happens every year. You get to you get to your team. And then you have those guys that are going to graduate. And we lost two good ones. But we have, you know, arguably as as good of a freshman class as anybody in the country in my opinion. A lot of great players, but some really good ones here. And so we’re excited about the new challenge. You know there’s just great teams all over Division one men’s golf and we’re a part of that mix. And so we’re excited about that. >> Kihei you’ve signed with BYU. It’s your freshman year I’ve thrown you. We’ve thrown you into this group of exciting freshmen with A.J. Dybantsa and many others at BYU. What are you most excited about in your freshman year at BYU? >> I think just just traveling with the team, going out with the team, that’s always a fun thing for me. Outside of golf. But yeah, obviously competing with with this guy and for this guy. But yeah, I’m excited. We have a really good team this year. So I’m excited to see where it goes. >> Have you been surprised or I guess noticed how good the swag is with BYU golf? Because of all the teams at BYU. They it’s another level to me. Honestly. >> It’s in the highest demand. It really is. >> It’s pretty awesome. >> I feel like everyone and their dog has one of these hats. >> So. >> That’s awesome. >> Hey, ode to the 81 National champs. Right. There we go. Yeah. >> That’s Carl Tucker’s logo. >> Absolutely. Yes. >> You know, we got to give credit where credit’s due. The uniforms and all the swag. That’s Coach Miller. >> That’s. >> Tom Miller. That’s Todd Todd. >> He just wears it. >> It’s a team effort. Let’s go. >> Kihei, you were just talking about a bomber like Tony Finau because he hits it so far off the tee. And then where is he being a specialist around the green. As you assess your own game where do you feel like you are strongest in in golf I know you want to be good at all of it, but what do you feel like is the thing you do best right now? >> Yeah, iron play has always been a strength of mine. Ball striking, especially short irons. But yeah, if you can ball strike it, you can play anywhere, anywhere in the world. And then yeah, the rest of my game I feel like is pretty solid right now. You know. You know, never satisfied. So always trying to get an edge. >> Is number 13 a fair preseason ranking for you or do you just ignore that number? >> You know, I’m I’m old school. That’s that’s stuff that I mean it’s nice because the kids deserve that. However now you got to go play right. And it starts next week. And so, you know, you get out there and get in contention and try to win those golf tournaments. And then, you know, that speaks for itself. But we’ve got to you got to go get after it before you can worry too much about that. >> Along with Kihei, who by the way, just won the Utah Open and he was the youngest. >> Congratulations on that. Incredible. >> Like that is wild. Who else do you feel like you’re going to rely on to carry and shoulder some of the additional burden on this year’s squad? >> That’s a great question. You know, we’re obviously we’re going to rely on Kihei and Peter Kim. And you know, those guys that have been the top Tyson, Shelley, Simon Kwan, those are the guys that have carried the torch the last couple of years. And then you got that new group of kids that are going to come in and really make a difference, and every one of the guys are going to have to get better for us to have a chance to win at the end of the year. And that’s what we’re you know, we’re out there this morning getting after it. And and we need a bunch of those days to be ready to go when it when it’s time in April and May. >> Kihei why was BYU the right place for you? >> Yeah, guys like him Coach Brockbank and Coach Miller. You know I love them. When I when I got to meet them, I’ve gotten to know them for a long time now with with my brother going to school here. But I feel like I’m going to grow not only my golf game, but as a person and, you know, strengthen my testimony while I’m here playing for these guys and and just the people around BYU. And the support that BYU gets is unlike any other school that I, that I saw. And that was something special to me. >> We’re glad to have you here to say that. >> Yeah, we’re stoked man. >> I’m glad to be here. >> Beat the Utes Monday. Let’s go. >> I think I saw Bruce tonight that you officially committed. And I saw him do a leap for joy. >> I think he did a flip, a front flip, which is crazy. >> Right? At the Marriott Center. >> I was up I was up watching one of the Shelley boys play basketball when he called. In fact. Yeah, it was. I’m not much of a gymnast, but there was some. >> Haha. That’s hilarious. I was joking, but we got the real story. There you go. You actually did do a leap for joy. >> Did the splits. >> You all would too. >> If you. >> Got the commit. >> From this guy. Absolutely, exactly. >> Great to have both of you with us. >> Thanks, guys. Thanks for coming in. >> We love BYU golf. On to the next. What would it take for all of you to believe that this year’s BYU football team is better than last year’s squad? That went 11? And two more responses to our question of the day on
