“So just a nice roasted draw mini driver for me, landed in a perfect spot and rolled down to tap-in, so that was a bonus for me.”
That was the fantastic description offered by 20-year-old BYU sophomore Kihei Akina of the eagle he made on Friday in shooting a seven-under 64 in the VidantaWorld Mexico Open. Along with a chip-in birdie on the 18th, the shots propelled Akina into a tie for second heading into the weekend.
“Roasted,” indeed, was his tee shot at the par-4 13th, where Akina blasted the mini driver 287 yards to give himself a 15-foot look at the eagle. He called it a “tap-in.” We should all be that optimistic.
But that’s where Akina’s head is at right now. He is now 5-for-5 in making cuts on the PGA Tour this year while playing on sponsor’s exemptions. He’s got a nice chance to beat his previous top finish—the solo ninth place he recorded earlier this month in his native state at the Bank of Utah Championship.
“I think I’m feeling more comfortable with each round played,” Akina said. “This is my first time going from an event to another event, so back-to-back, it’s a little bit different for me in that aspect. I feel like every new tournament, every new round is a learning experience for me, and this one here was a really great experience for me so far.”
In a nice stroke of grouping by the tour, Akina was put with two of his true peers who already are pros—19-year-old pro Blades Brown and 22-year-old Luke Clanton. Brown bypassed college and will earn his PGA Tour card for 2027 on the strength of his Korn Ferry Tour standing this season. Clanton starred at Florida State and earned his card in 2025 through the PGA Tour University Accelerated program. He’s battling to stay on the tour with a ranking of 126th in the Fall Series.
Over the first 36 holes, Akina won “medalist” honours among the trio, standing at 11 under. Clanton and Brown aren’t far behind, tied for 10th at nine under.
“Awesome grouping the last two days,” Akina said. “I never met Luke before so that was really fun to get to know him. He’s a really cool guy. I’ve known Blades for a while. Yeah, just really fun grouping and I think that helped keep me kind of loose out there.”
As impressive as that mini driver shot was, Akina bested the field most with the shortest stick—his putter. He made 164 feet of putts on Friday and gained a whopping 7.25 strokes on the field on the greens. He insisted he’s still looking to better his iron game.
“I think once my ball-striking is where I want it to be, then the rest of my game just feels really complete,” he said. “Obviously, the chipping and putting are pretty good so far the past two days, but once I get my ball-striking where I want it to be, then I feel like I’ll be good to go and ready to compete for the weekend.”
