The Chico State men's golf team is on its way to the Big Island, where a big opportunity awaits.
 
The Wildcats, ranked No. 22 in Division II following a fall slate in which they won two of four events and added a runner-up finish, will open the Spring portion of their schedule at the 26^th annual Amer Ari Intercollegiate Golf Tournament. On the Kings Course at Waikoloa Beach Resort in Kona, Hawai'i, the Wildcats will tee it up with 18 Division I teams, including last season's two NCAA Championship finalists, and five of the top 11 teams in the current poll.
 
"It is going to be a fun event to be part of but also I look for us to play competitively with these Division I schools," said Wildcats Head Coach Nick Green. "This is a great challenge to see how we stack up against some of the best college teams and players in the country  and the guys are all really looking forward to it. We are starting to come into form now that we have had some decent weather, and I think that we will be ready for the high winds that seem to be the norm for the courses out there." 
 
After a very competitive qualifying circuit, the five players representing the Wildcats this week are: Kelley Sullivan, Serge Kiriluk, Chris Colla, Colby Dean, and Cole Chavez.
 
Fans can follow their progress via Golfstat live scoring HERE.

The tournament is set to begin Thursday with a 9:30 a.m., Pacific, shotgun start. Teams will play 18 holes each day.

The Wildcats were last invited to the Amer Ari in 2012 and finished 14th in the 20-team field, beating Division I foes Oregon Stare, Hawai'i, Colorado and UC Davis. They finished 10-over par. 

The two teams that battled it out in the NCAA Championship last spring (Oregon and Texas) headline the field, along with five of the top ten players in the NCAA Division I rankings.

Some of those past greats that have played in the Amer Ari include Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth, Matt Kutcher, Notah Begay and Anthony Kim. Oregon's Aaron Wise, who won the Amer Ari last year, is now on the PGA tour.

Teams coming to the Big Island next week that are currently ranked in the GCAA NCAA Division I Top 10 include Oklahoma State (4), Stanford (6), USC (7), and Auburn (8). Texas, ranked 11^th, is also in the field. There are 21 total teams—18 Division I squads, one college team from Japan, Chico State, host Hawai'i Hilo.

Depending on which list you work from, the top two amateur golfers in the country will be on the Big Island next week. Wyndham Clark (Oregon) is ranked No. 1 by the NCAA heading into the spring season, while Stanford's Maverick McNealy is the recipient of the McCormack Medal, given to the world's top amateur golfer.

McNealy is ranked No. 5 in the NCAA list, with Auburn's Will Long at No. 4, USC's Sean Crocker (6^th) and Doug Ghim of Texas (10) all scheduled to compete for medalist honors at the Amer Ari.

2017 Amer Ari tournament field
Oklahoma State (4)
Stanford (6)
USC (7)
Auburn (8)
Texas (11)
Texas Tech (17)
Oregon (22)
Georgia Tech (26)
Arizona State (29)
Colorado (31)
Oregon State
San Jose State
Texas Christian
UC Davis
UCLA
Hawaii Hilo
Hawaii
Pacific
Chico State (22 D-II)
St. Mary's 
Osaka Gakuin (Japan)
 
Tournament History
Year    Team Champion        Medalist(s)                                       
1992    Oklahoma State          Craig Hainline (Oklahoma State)
1993    Nevada-Las Vegas      Alan Bratton (Oklahoma State)
1994    Arkansas                     Todd Dempsey (Arizona State)
1995    Arizona State               Notah Begay (Stanford)
1996    Oklahoma State           Craig Hanell (Arizona State)
1997    Oklahoma State           Jim Skinner (Southern Methodist)
1998    Nevada-Las Vegas      Bill Lunde (Nevada-Las Vegas)
1999    Nevada-Las Vegas      James Watt (Nevada-Reno)
2000    Georgia Tech               Matt Kuchar (GA Tech), Carlton Forrester (GA Tech)
2001    Georgia Tech               Matt Kuchar (GA Tech), Bryce Molder (GA Tech)            
2002    Texas                           Sprague Kolp (Nevada-Reno)
2003    Georgia Tech               Troy Matteson (Georgia Tech)
2004    UCLA                           Adam Meyer (Texas Christian)
2005    Georgia Tech               Anthony Kim (Oklahoma)
2006    Oklahoma State           Tyler Leon (Oklahoma State)
2007    Georgia Tech               Cameron Tringale (Georgia Tech)
2008    Oklahoma                    Jonathan Moore (Oklahoma State)
2009    Stanford                       Jesper Kennegard (Arizona State)
2010    Southern California     Nick Taylor (Washington)
2011    Oklahoma State           Daniel Miernicki (Oregon)
2012    Texas                           Jeffery Kang (USC), wins playoff over Jordan Spieth
2013    UCLA/Washington         Dominic Bozzelli (Auburn)
2014    Oklahoma State           Jordan Niebrugge (Oklahoma State)
2015    Arizona State                Cheung-Tsu Pan (Washington)
2016    Southern California         Aaron Wise (Oregon)