Ota’s got a playing partner for Brown Four-Ball event

Tyler Ota is back — hopefully with a partner this time — to defend his championship in the 62nd Francis Hyde I‘i Brown Four-Ball Match Play Championship. It opens this weekend at Ala Wai. The final three rounds are next weekend.

Ota won last year’s final going solo, when partner Rudy Cabalar had to leave the island earlier than expected for the state high school championship. Ota defeated Kyosuke Hara and Kyle Suppa, building a 4-up advantage in the morning round and holding off the 13-year-olds on the final hole. Ota is playing with Tyler Pang this year and they tee off at 11:18 a.m. Saturday with Suppa and Hara, now freshmen at Punahou and Moanalua.

Former University of Hawaii golfer Jared Sawada, low amateur at the Hawaii Pearl Open, is teaming with Evan Kawai, at 13, the youngest in the field.

At the other end of the spectrum, 74-year-old Fred Morinaka is partnering with Paul Kimura. The championship flight also includes brothers Lion, 16, and Sian, 15, Rogers, who tee off at 10:54 a.m. with Vernon Patao and Remington Hirano. Patao was an Olympic weightlifter in 1996.

Deadline nears for Open

Wednesday at 11 a.m. is the deadline to enter the U.S. Women’s Open. Hawaii’s 36-hole sectional will be May 20 at Waialae Country Club. At least one golfer will advance directly to the national championship at Sebonack Golf Club in New York.

Deadline for the U.S. Women’s Public Links is the following Wednesday (May 8). Hawaii has sectionals at Poipu Bay on May 25 and Ewa Beach on June 1.This year’s national championship is at the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club in Norman, Okla.

All registration must be done online at usga.org.

New six-hole course

The Prince Course at Princeville Golf Club has introduced a six-hole par-3 course dubbed the "Mini Prince." It opened April 1.

All six holes are less than 100 yards. The course is carved out of the Prince Clubhouse’s 13-acre practice facility. Existing practice greens have been enhanced and expanded into six complete par-3 holes, serving double duty as part of the driving range earlier in the day. The range closes at 3 p.m. Mini Prince offers its first tee time at 4 p.m.

The Mini Prince is a walking course designed for all skill levels and is particularly suited to families.

Cost is $15 for adults, free for golfers who played the Prince Course the same day. Juniors ages 8-17 are free if accompanied by a paying adult, and unaccompanied juniors ages 12-17 can play for $5. Children 12-under must be with an adult. Rates include a carry bag with appropriate clubs.

Call in advance for Mini Prince tee times at 800-826-1105 or 808-826-5001.

‘Time for Nine’ launched

In its June 2013 issue, Golf Digest is launching a campaign to support and encourage more nine-hole rounds. With promotional support from the U.S. Golf Association and PGA of America, Golf Digest will create a list of nine-hole-friendly courses that will appear at golfdigest.com.

"Time for Nine" will be made up of courses that allow and promote nine-hole play for men, women, juniors and families on layouts that make it easy. Golfers are encouraged to submit qualifying courses to editors@golfdigest.com or 9isfine@pga.com or Timefor9@usga.org. The list will be published at golfdigest.com.

Notes

» Hawaii’s Alice Kim, Michele Condry and Alina Ching were named to the West Coast Conference Women’s Golf All-Academic Team. To be considered, a student-athlete must maintain at least a 3.20 cumulative grade-point average and be a significant contributor to her team.

All three are sophomores. Kim has a 3.40 GPA in sports administration at Gonzaga. Condry (San Francisco) has a 3.59 GPA in business administration, and Ching (Pepperdine) has a 3.43 GPA in psychology.

» Waikoloa Beach Resort is offering Family Golf Days at Waikoloa Kings’ Course. From MayAugust, families can play the Kings’ course after 3:30 p.m. for $50 per adult and $25 for juniors. For more information, go to waikoloabeachgolf.com or call 877-WAIKOLOA.

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