Fresh off of an appearance in the NCAA championship, PJ Samiere got his summer off to a hot start on Monday.

A week after completing his freshman season at San Diego State, Samiere birdied three of his first four holes and tied for medalist honors in stroke-play qualifying for the 107th Manoa Cup at Oahu Country Club.

Samiere, a Punahou graduate, was joined at 4-under-par 67 by Baldwin sophomore Justin Ngan and Moanalua junior Shawn Lu and will enter the state amateur match-play championship as the second seed.

The tie was broken by playing order and Ngan was awarded the top seed in the 64-player bracket. Ngan will face Braxton Dw Chong at 7 a.m. Tuesday in the first round. On the other side of the bracket, Samiere takes on AJ Teraoka at 9:24 and Lu faces Jonathan Morikawa at 10:36. The tournament runs through Saturday and will be decided with a 36-hole final.

The top seed in the 64-player bracket traditionally goes to the defending champion. But that spot was vacated with Nainoa Calip, the 106th Manoa Cup champion, turning pro this year.

Samiere won two matches last year before falling to Calip in the Round of 16 and returned to OCC with a season of college experience behind him.

He played in all 14 tournaments with the Aztecs and ranked fifth on the team with a 73.21 scoring average while contributing to SDSU’s Mountain West Conference championship. His low round of the season was a 64 at the Barona Collegiate Cup, where he placed sixth, and fired a 69 in the final round of the NCAA regional at New Haven, Conn., on May 16 to help the Aztecs place second and secure a spot in the NCAA championships.

He closed the season by finishing in a tie for 54th at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla., with a four-day total of 12-over 300.

"It was a really nice golf course and it was cool to play at such a high level with my teammates and just really enjoyed it and took it all in," Samiere said.

Samiere’s first experience at an NCAA championship heightened his appreciation for "the type of level you’re going to have to play at the next level, because that course is really hard and you really have to plan your way around it and make sure you’re hitting the right shots at the right time."

After playing four rounds on Concession’s 7,483-yard layout, Samiere had to adjust his game plan in returning to OCC’s hilly 6,041-yard setup.

"I didn’t hit as many long irons today but as long as my driver was in the fairway I was able to hit wedges into the greens, made it a lot easier," Samiere said.

While Samiere made the transition to college this year, Go Nakatsukasa is still looking ahead to middle school and threatened a tournament record by qualifying for match play.

The 11-year-old just finished fifth grade at Star of the Sea and shot a 78 on Monday to earn the 45th seed. He’ll face Isaac Jaffurs, last year’s runner-up, in the first round.

Nakatsukasa began his day with a birdie on the 257-yard 10th hole and closed with four consecutive pars.

"I was chipping and putting good," said Nakatsukasa, who began playing four years ago and is moving to San Diego later this summer.

Since Nakatsukasa turns 12 in September, Bradley Shigezawa remains the youngest golfer to qualify for match play. Shigezawa made it into the bracket at 11 years, 4 months in 2003.

Four-time champion Brandan Kop also played his way into the field again with a 73 and was joined by past Manoa Cup winners Dick Sieradzki (1990) and Matthew Ma (2012).

Both female entrants in Monday’s 84-player qualifier also advanced. Brittany Fan, who recently finished her freshman year at Colorado, carded a 73 and is the 18th seed. Punahou junior Aiko Leong also qualified as the 55th seed with her round of 80.