Blaze Akana’s scorching five-hole stretch helped him earn his first appearance in a PGA Tour event.

It took a few holes for Akana to warm up in a Sony Open in Hawaii qualifier on Monday morning, sitting at 3 over par heading to Waialae Country Club’s seventh tee.

The University of Hawaii sophomore and Kamehameha graduate then birdied his next five holes, added another at the par-3 16th, and signed for a round of 3-under-par 69 on a breezy morning and early afternoon in Kahala.

He then had to wait for three more groups to finish to see if his spot atop the 12-player leaderboard would hold up.

“It was definitely more stressful waiting for everyone,” Akana said. “Waiting and not having any control over it was tough.”

Dane Watanabe went into the par-5 18th hole at 2 under and Akana headed to the practice green to stay warm for a possible playoff. When Watanabe’s birdie putt stayed out of the cup, Akana secured the spot in the Sony Open field annually reserved for a Hawaii amateur.

“It’s going to be a surreal experience,” Akana said of teeing off in the PGA Tour’s first full-field event of 2023.

“I’m a native Hawaiian, I have Hawaiian blood and it’s really cool being able to play in a PGA Tour event and represent all the Hawaiians and the people of Hawaii.”

Akana finished 11th in the Hawaii State Golf Association’s season-long points race to earn the last spot in the qualifier, which includes an automatic berth for the Manoa Cup champion.

He transferred to UH this year after spending his first two years of college at Sacramento State and his time with the Hornets helped him develop a shot that highlighted his birdie streak.

Akana had started his day with a double bogey, turned his momentum with birdies at Nos. 7 and 8 and added two more at the two par-5s around the turn.

“I knew that my swing was there, I just had to hit some greens and I was putting it well,” Akana said. “So I just tried to hit greens, keep it simple, go for the middle of the greens, and get something rolling.”

Akana indeed hit the next 12 greens in regulation, including the 412-yard par-4 11th, where he took aim with a 4-iron into a stiff wind. Some 186 yards out, he drilled a stinger that “didn’t get more than 20 feet off the ground, (and) never left the flag,” to set up an 8-foot putt for his fifth consecutive birdie.

“One of my old teammates at Sac State was the king of stingers,” Akana said. “We would practice those a lot, see who could go lower and hit it the straightest. … We’ve been practicing low-flighted punch shots a lot and it comes in handy here.”

Akana’s 25-foot birdie putt at the par-3 16th proved to be just enough to hold off Watanabe and Luciano Conlan, who tied for second at 2 under. Watanabe’s 3 under on the back nine gave him the alternate spot.