Evan Kawai executed several memorable swings in Tuesday’s Pro-Junior Challenge at Waialae Country Club.
The moments between those shots could provide the most enduring benefit for the Punahou senior.
Kawai and pro Kyle Thompson played the three-hole contest at 2 under par to top the five-team field in the annual exhibition leading into the Sony Open in Hawaii. Along with shot recommendations, Kawai said Thompson provided inspiration in their time on the course.
“Something he mentioned was most of his pro career was in Web.com Tour,” Kawai said. “He persevered over the years and played really well and he didn’t give up and ended up making full status this year, which is a big accomplishment and something I hope to do one day. … I think I learned a very valuable lesson, which is patience and perseverance.”
Kawai and Thompson birdied the first two holes and finished a shot ahead of the teams of 2011 Sony Open champion Mark Wilson and ‘Iolani senior Kamie Hamada and Tony Finau and Kamehameha-Hawaii junior Pono Yanagi.
Marty Dou, the first Chinese-born player to win on the Web.com Tour to earn a PGA Tour card, and Mid-Pacific sophomore Davis Lee played at even par, followed by two-time Sony champion Jimmy Walker and Kaiser senior Malia Nam
When Wilson last participated in the event, he partnered with a future pro and again came away impressed with the local juniors who qualified for Tuesday’s event over the Hawaii State Junior Golf Association season.
“The last time I played with John Oda,” Wilson said of the Moanalua graduate who turned pro in September and qualified for his third Sony Open on Monday.
“Now he turned pro and I saw him in Mexico and finished top 10. It’s really cool and it shows the talent Hawaii has and these kids were great too. I’m sure we’ll see a few of them turn professional in five, six years and we’ll see them again.”
Wilson said he didn’t have to give Hamada much help after the New Mexico-bound Raiders senior nearly chipped in from the rough on the par-3 11th and set him up for an eagle putt with a solid drive (from the ladies tee) and approach on the par-5 18th before they settled for birdie.
“I think I got a little more confidence after playing because I’ve been through kind of a lot of pressure situations this past year, but I think this was the most,” Hamada, last year’s HSJGA girls 15-18 player of the year, said of playing in front of the Tuesday afternoon gallery.
“It was really rewarding because this … was one of my biggest goals in junior golf.”
In his second appearance in the event, Kawai shook off a shaky opening shot off Waialae’s 10th tee and his wedge to 4 feet set up Thompson for a birdie putt. On the par-3, 11th, the University of San Diego signee’s first shot landed on the front of the green and he snaked in a 25-foot birdie putt, drawing a shout of “partner!” from Thompson as the ball dropped.
“His caddie read it and my caddie read it and they were both pretty similar, so I just averaged out the break in between and just got lucky,” Kawai said.
Yanagi set up Finau for a look at eagle on No. 18 and the 20-foot putt dropped to get the long-hitting pair under par.
The event raised $10,000 for the HSJGA, and the pros will be back on the course on Thursday for the Sony Open’s first round.
Oda, who played in the Sony as a junior in 2012 and as a college standout last year, will tee off at 8:40 a.m. Eric Dugas, a pro at Makena Golf Club and the Aloha Section PGA stroke-play champion, also starts at 8:40.
Tyler Ota, the three-time Hawaii State Golf Association player of the year and the lone amateur in the 144-player field, makes his Sony Open debut at 1:30 p.m.
