Five Manoa Cup open division matches were decided by a playoff Wednesday, perhaps none with a higher profile than that which featured the No. 12 golfer in the Rolex American Junior Golf Association Boys Rankings.

Kihei Akina was referred to as “the best player in the nation” by one of his fellow competitors the day before. Surely, being named the USA Today Boys High School Golfer of the Year as a sophomore comes with a certain aura. And that happened a year ago. Akina, 18, is a year older, a year better and a year stronger.

But Gunnar Lee held his golf club vertically, placed precisely between his eyes, and with a firmly stiffened right arm to gauge each putt, just the same.

Lee found himself 2 up thru 15 with a chance to eliminate the returning Manoa Cup runner-up in the round of 32. It was Akina’s first time playing the event then, and he said he struggled to finish matches, especially in the finals. He learned from the experience, evidently.

Akina birdied the 16th, 17th and 18th holes to force a sudden-death playoff that lasted two holes before he secured his bid to the round of 16.

“It gets your blood going early in the tournament,” Akina said.

A year ago, Akina was 4 up with at most seven holes of a possible 36 left to play in his championship match against Josh Hayashida. It was Akina’s largest lead and Hayashida hadn’t led at any prior point. What happened next has fueled Akina through the opening rounds of the Manoa Cup this year.

Hayashida, then a rising sophomore at UH-Manoa, won six consecutive holes to mount a highly improbable comeback. And he didn’t even need the 36th hole to do it.

He’d won six holes all match ahead of that stretch.

“I was like, ‘OK, this is a really tough spot here,’” Hayashida said.

“He’s a really solid player. But yeah, I just had to buckle down. And he gave me some life on 11.”

Akina remembers.

“Absolutely,” Akina said. “I’m using that as a little bit of motivation. … We’ll see what happens.”

Hayashida ended his round of 32 early with a 4-and-2 win over Chaminade alumnus Colby Gunderson — a welcome recovery after a poor round-of-64 performance by his standards, amid inclement weather.

As the skies cleared, Hayashida’s mind followed suit.

“I was just more locked in and knew what I wanted to do,” Hayashida said.

“The elements did help. A lot more fun, a lot more enjoyable. Right when I teed off, there was no wind, was perfect sunrise.”

Akina and Hayashida are on opposite sides of the open division bracket. But Saturday’s championship match is not far off. The following rounds will move quickly, particularly with the quarterfinals and semifinals both being held on Friday.

May the best man win, as the saying goes.

“If you just make a pretty good game plan, then you’ll be fine for the whole week,” Akina said.

“Just keep playing, keep winning.”

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Open division round of 32

Joshua Hayashida def. Colby Gunderson 4&3; Dane Watanabe def. Ryan Takeshita 7&6; Kolbe Irei def. Jackson Ibarra 2&1; Andrew Otani def. Ben Cafferio, 20 holes; Zachary Sagayaga def. Steven Cable 4&3; Robert Berris def. Drew Higashihara, 19 holes; Spencer Shishido def. Keanu Akina, 22 holes; Yuuki Kubo def. Neal Manutai 4&2.

Chance Wilson def. Derek Chinen, 1 up; Tyler Ogawa def. Katushiro Yamashita 2&1; Dysen Park def. Blaine Kimura 2&1; Anson Cabello def. Bryce Toledo-Lue 3&1; James Whitworth def. Matthew Ma 5&3; Kihei Akina def. Gunnar Lee 20 holes; Tyler Tamayori def. Lucas Summerhayes 20 holes; Isaiah Kanno def. Jordan Sato 1up.

Today’s Tee Times

Open division, round of 16

7 a.m. – Joshua Hayashida, Mililani; Dane Watanabe, Kaneohe

7:09 a.m. – Kolbe Irei, Honolulu; Andrew Otani, Honolulu

7:19 a.m. – Zachary Sgayaga, Honolulu; Robert Berris, Fair Oaks, Calif.

7:27 a.m. – Spencer Shishido, Honolulu; Yuuki Kubo, Japan

7:36 a.m. – Chance Wilson, Princeville; Tyler Ogawa, Honolulu

7:45 a.m. – Dysen Park, Hilo; Anson Cabello, Kahului

7:54 a.m. – James Whitworth, Honolulu; Kihei Akina, Kahuku

8:03 a.m. – Tyler Tamayori, Honolulu; Isaiah Kanno, Hilo