In essence, John Oda’s name was uttered in the same breath as Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Ben Crenshaw this month.

The Moanalua alum climbed into the Haskins Award Watch List, which means Oda is now considered one of the top 10 male golfers in college. The award is given annually to the best college player, voted by players, coaches and media.

Previous winners include Sony Open in Hawaii champions Russell Henley (2010) and Brad Faxon (1983), Kailua’s Scott Simpson (1977), Matt Kuchar (1998) and Ryan Moore (2005), who, like Oda, played for UNLV.

Crenshaw won the first three Haskins Awards (1971-73), then turned pro. Mickelson was the winner from 1990-92 and Woods took it in 1996, when he was also PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.

We haven’t seen nearly as much of Oda in Hawaii since he left for UNLV two years ago, but clearly his game has continued to thrive.

He won the first collegiate tournament he played and was runner-up here in the John Burns Intercollegiate. He is the first to win twice this season, and his worst finish is seventh. He will be back in January for the Sony Open qualifier and again in February for the Burns.

“He understands what his strengths are and he plays to his strengths. That’s very admirable,” says UNLV’s Dwaine Knight, a two-time national coach of the year. “He’s also a competitor, he likes to compete. I enjoy that in him. He’s not afraid on the big stage, not afraid to win. You can’t teach that, it’s got to come from inside. He’s had it ever since I first saw him.”

That would be somewhere in the midst of Oda winning a pair of State Stroke Play and high school championships and appearances in the 2012 Sony Open and Hawaii Pearl Open, where he took Korean pro Jun Won Park — 10 years his senior — to a second playoff hole before falling.

In 2013, Oda shattered the scoring record by six shots when he defended his title in the Stroke Play Championship, which began in 1928. He opened with a 63.

He fired 64 three times in his first year of college golf, when his scoring average (71.11) was nearly 11⁄2 shots lower than any freshman in school history. A final-round 64 earlier this month gave him his fourth collegiate title, at the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate.

“He is not afraid to go low,” Knight acknowledges. “That’s another attribute you look for in a young player. It will serve him well if he goes to the next level.”

That’s the plan, after Oda picks up a degree in economics. He has owned UNLV’s highest GPA his first two seasons, along with collecting team MVP and honorable mention All-America honors. He is currently 21st in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.

And he has been practicing with PGA Tour pro Kevin Na.

“His game is very mature,” Oda says of Na. “He manages himself very well and he does not make too many mistakes. Kevin is ranked Top 30 in the world.I enjoy playing with him and realize that there is a lot to learn for the next level. My focus is to remain healthy, get stronger, improve my ball striking, course management and mental game.”

If he says it, it will happen. That is the way Oda has been since he started golfing at age 3. David Ishii has always been a mentor and he has worked on swing mechanics with Kelvin Miyahara since 2011.

Oda has also worked hard on finding balance. He is exceedingly polite and thoughtful, a serious student and devoted friend.

He takes in everything, from playing in 25-degree weather and seeing his first snow to experiencing famous and “challenging” venues. He appreciates what UNLV has given him so he can “develop as a person and player” and also time spent with many of the best amateur golfers in the world.

Now, people are including him in that conversation. Oda still finds it easy to strike the right balance between confidence, humility and having a life off the golf course.

“Balance is a good word for him,” Knight says. “He is really good in school and doesn’t take the easiest of classes. He really challenges himself. The next level for golf — the tour — is very difficult, but that’s his goal. He wants to go there and get his degree. … He never takes anything for granted.

“Whatever it takes to get to the next level, he’s willing to do it.”