Matthew Ma didn’t get much practice over the week leading into the Manoa Cup’s return to Oahu Country Club.

But the 2012 champion did have good reason.

A week before Monday’s qualifying round, the Ma family celebrated the arrival of a second child. So it’s been a bit hectic for Ma and his wife, now parents of a 3-year-old daughter and week-old son.

In fact, he was planning on skipping the tournament as the entry deadline approached along with the due date.

“I didn’t sign up actually. I wasn’t even going to ask,” Ma said. “She asked me if I was going to play, and I said I didn’t sign up and she said, ‘Why not?’”

“She said, ‘You should sign up … as long as you don’t stay four hours after the round.’”

So Ma was back at OCC for his tee time on Monday, earned the 25th seed with a round of 73 in qualifying and advanced in the bracket with a 6-and-4 win over Jake Sequin on Tuesday in the first day of the state amateur match-play championship.

The Manoa Cup was canceled last year due the pandemic, marking the first summer without the event since World War II. The Hawaii State Golf Association resumed its schedule in November with the Sony Open amateur qualifier and the Manoa Cup returned to its customary slot in June for its 112th edition.

“There’s a huge difference from playing on a Sunday and competing. There’s two different feels,” said Ma, who finished eighth in the Hawaii State Amateur Championship in March and serves as a coach at ‘Iolani.

“Everyone has the jitters. It’s just good to get out and feel a little nervous, because all of that’s natural. It’s good to feel that again and actually have it count.”

Ma began the qualifying round on Monday with a three-putt on the first hole. On Tuesday, he opened match play by draining a 25-foot birdie putt and was 3 up after three holes against Sequin, the 2019 high school state champion at Mid-Pacific Institute and a University of Hawaii signee.

“To play well out here, to make it far, you have to make some putts,” Ma said. “The course is short, everybody’s in it, so it comes down to chipping and putting, and I was fortunate enough to make a few good ones today and really apply the pressure early.”

The defending champion is traditionally awarded the top seed. But that spot was vacated when 2019 winner Tyler Ota turned pro last year. Peter Jung, a recent Maryknoll graduate headed to Washington State in August, claimed the top spot with a 66 in qualifying and advanced with a 4-and-3 win over Derek Ham.

“I started 2 down through three and scrambled it back,” said Jung, who rolled in nine birdies on Monday. “(Ham) was good, wouldn’t miss a green. … I was like, ‘You’d better focus. Can’t get caught lacking.’”

Ma is among three past champions in the 64-player bracket that was halved on Tuesday. Andy Okita, the 2017 winner, defeated Yoon Ho Park 4 and 2 and four-time champion Brandan Kop outlasted 14-year-old Bryce Toledo-Lue 4 and 3 in a matchup of players on opposite ends of the bracket’s age spectrum.

Jennifer Koga topped qualifying for the 16-player women’s bracket after being named the Big Sky Conference’s Player and Freshman of the Year at Sacramento State. She opened match play with a 4-and-3 win over Katrina Huang and will next face No. 8 Kara Kaneshiro, who won the state amateur stroke play title in March.

Four double-digit seeds — No. 10 Anna Murata, No. 12 Nicole Tanoue, No. 14 Ashley Koga and No. 15 Chloe Jang — also advanced to today’s quarterfinals.

112TH MANOA CUP

At Oahu Country Club

Tuesday

First round

Open

Peter Jung def. Derek Ham, 4 and 3

Joseph Matyas def. Blaise Takushi, 6 and 4

Evan Kawai def. Derek Chinen, 6 and 5

Matt Pakkala def. Zachary Sagayaga, 2 and 1

Yoshiki Sakai def. Nicholas Gomez, 5 and 3

Matthew Ma def. Jake Sequin, 6 and 4

Adam Quandt def. Gabriel Smith, 5 and 4

Jeffrey Weinstein def. Chris Byrer, 1 up

Isaiah Kanno def. Benjamin Sandborn, 4 and 3

Marshall Kim def. Alika Bell, 1 up

Brenden Beeg def. Robert Kim, 3 and 2

Kolbe Irei def. Barry Watt, 6 and 5

Blaze Akana def. Paul Loui, 4 and 3

Spencer Dunaway def. Loren Lum, 7 and 6

Joshua Chung def. Austin Scarboro, 3 and 2

Drew Higashihara def. Eisei Thompson, 3 and 2

AJ Teraoka def. Miles Moriyama, 7 and 6

Brandan Kop def. Bryce Toledo-Lue, 4 and 3

Jordan Sato def. Alan Wong, 4 and 2

Hunter Hughes def. Keanu Akina, 1 up

Dane Watanabe def. Isaac Jafurs, 5 and 4

Andy Okita def. Yoon Ho Park, 4 and 2

Joshua Hayashida def. Scott Liparelli, 7 and 6

Shawn Sakoda def. Ryuhei Sekino, 20 holes

Remington Hirano def. Noah Lau, 2 and 1

Andrew Otani def. Len Yamada, 8 and 6

Anson Cabello def. Jackson Ibarra 3 and 2

Adam Chiya def. Justin Taparra, 2 up

Ethan Hironaga def. Dillon Ah Chong, 2 and 1

Thayne Costa def. Ranson Kaya, 6 and 5

Kyle Nakazaki def. Noah Koshi, 7 and 5

Keita Okada def. Tomomasa Nakamura, 5 and 4

Women

Jennifer Koga def. Katrina Huang, 4 and 3

Kara Kaneshiro def. Shayna Lu, 1 up

Mari Nakamura def. Victoria Takai, 3 and 2

Nicole Tanoue def. Kelsie Inouye, 1 up

Chole Jang def. Raya Nakao, 3 and 2

Anna Murata def. Heather McGinnis, 5 and 4

Ashley Koga def. Alison Takamiya, 2 and 1

Jolie Chee def. Esther Kang, 19 holes