Garrett Takeuchi’s current University of Hawaii teammates convinced him to add the 113th Manoa Cup to his summer schedule.
His first-round duel with a soon-to-be Rainbow Warrior delivered a dramatic debut in the state amateur match-play championship .
Trailing 1 down going into the 15th against reigning high school state champion and UH signee Joshua Hayashida, Takeuchi nearly holed out a chip from the fairway to set up a tying birdie. He then rolled in a 45-foot putt on the par-3 16th to take the lead on his way to a 1-up victory on Tuesday at Oahu Country Club.
“It was pretty fun, it was just back and forth all day,” Takeuchi said. “I knew I needed to make birdie on (No. 15) to have a chance.”
Takeuchi was among six UH players to qualify for the 64-player bracket on Monday and four advanced to the second round. His win over Hayashida set up a meeting with defending champion and No. 1 seed Peter Jung in today’s 7 a.m. match at OCC.
Jung, coming off his freshman season at Washington State, advanced with a 5 and 4 win over Tensuke Sakurai.
Takeuchi played in seven of UH’s 11 tournaments this season and returned home to Fresno, Calif., after completing the spring semester. Some of the Warriors — including Tyler Ogawa, Jake Sequin, Zachary Sagayaga, Isaiah Kanno and AJ Teraoka — have been Manoa Cup regulars over the years and Takeuchi made a quick trip back to Oahu this week to join them in the state’s longest running event.
“They just said it was a great tournament and lot of good people here and a lot of good competition as well,” Takeuchi said. “A lot of good players and just being able to play with them is an honor and being able to play for Hawaii.”
Hayashida will join the Warriors in the fall and the match provided a preview of the competition awaiting him in the fall in the team’s qualifying tournaments, with OCC among UH’s regular venues.
“I’m stoked actually,” Hayashida said of starting his college career following a hectic summer schedule. “I couldn’t be more excited just working on my game, competing every day, that’s a dream of mine.
“I love competing. Even if I lose, you can learn from everything.”
The recent Hawaii Baptist Academy graduate finished second behind Ogawa in the championship flight of the Mid-Pacific Open in April. He then won the boys title in the David S. Ishii Foundation/HHSAA Golf Championships on Maui in May as part of a run he called, “probably the best golf I’ve played in my life.”
“I know I can get back to that,” he said.
Takeuchi led their match 1 up through 11 holes and Hayashida won the next two, taking the lead with a birdie on the uphill 13th. Takeuchi tied it again when his chip threatened the pin on the 15th and moved ahead when his lengthy putt on No. 16 climbed a ridge then found its way into the cup.
“I was just trying to get it over the ridge have it take it down the hill and see where it goes,” Takeuchi said. “It was a good putt and it fell, that’s all that I can ask for.”
Takeuchi and Hayashida matched birdies on No. 17 and the outcome was sealed when Hayashida’s birdie putt on 18 slid by the hole.
Jung had a shorter morning to begin his defense of the tournament title, winning the first two holes, matching Sakurai for the next nine then winning the last three to close out the match. Today’s match with Takeuchi, seeded 32nd, represents the next step as Jung seeks to become the Manoa Cup’s first back-to-back champion since David Fink won the 2010 and ’11 titles.
“In match play anybody can win, the seeding doesn’t really matter to me,” Jung said. “I just try to take it one shot at a time.”
Jung was among three past Manoa Cup champions to advance on Tuesday, and was joined by Brandan Kop (1983, ’86, ’97, ’98) and Andy Okita (2017). Matthew Ma (2012) fell to Sequin in 19 holes.
The women’s bracket opened with top seeded Raya Nakao, the HHSAA girls champion, advancing with a 5-and-4 win over Arianna Bell. Second-seeded Kara Kaneshiro defeated Kalani teammate Rachael Wang 2 and 1 to move on
as well.