Richard Hattori got a little taste of playing with the pros prior to the last Sony Open in Hawaii.

He’ll get the full experience come January.

Hattori, a senior at Kalani, earned a spot in the PGA Tour’s first full-field event of 2013 by surviving a playoff to win the Sony Open amateur qualifier on Monday at Waialae Country Club.

Hattori, 17, was one of the local players selected to participate in the Sony Open’s Pro-Junior Skills Challenge last January, partnering with Ricky Barnes. He’ll be back at Waialae with a tee time after securing the special exemption reserved for a local amateur.

"I wasn’t thinking, ‘This is for Sony,’ " Hattori said of his mind-set in the playoff, "it was ‘just hit the ball.’ "

Hattori shot a 1-under-par 71 to finish in a tie with Todd Rego and Jared Sawada. The players went back to the 18th tee box and an errant drive on the first playoff hole took Rego out of contention. Sawada and Hattori each parred the hole.

Sawada and Hattori went back to the 18th tee for a second playoff hole. This time, Sawada’s drive went out of bounds by about a foot, but he kept the pressure on Hattori by draining a 25-foot putt for bogey.

Hattori’s 3-footer for par might have looked more like a 6-footer after Sawada’s putt. But he calmly dropped it to end the playoff.

"It was a pretty nerve-wracking putt," said Hattori, who might have more butterflies when he puts his tee in the ground for the Sony Open’s first round on Jan. 10.

The 12-player field for the qualifier was determined by Governor’s Cup points accumulated in Hawaii State Golf Association events through the year.

Hattori ended the season 17th on the list with 385 points. But because NCAA rules prohibit current college players from participating, Hattori moved up into the 11th spot.

"I actually got lucky because I only played a couple tournaments and I barely got in," said Hattori, who reached the second stage of qualifying for the Japan Golf Tour earlier this year and will get valuable exposure to a professional environment in the Sony.

Hattori played in the first group on Monday and made the turn at 3 under. After consecutive bogeys on the 16th and 17th holes, he sent his approach on No. 18 over the green. But he got up and down for par to stay at 1 under.

Rego birdied the par-5 18th to also get to 1 under. The final group of Sawada, Matthew Ma and John Oda —who won last year’s qualifier — all reached No. 18 at even par. Ma, the Governor’s Cup points leader, and Oda missed their birdie putts and Sawada got his 10-footer to fall to join the playoff.

On the second playoff hole, Sawada’s drive drifted to the right of the cart path. The ball came to rest inches wide of the white stakes, sending Sawada back to the tee to hit his third shot.

"It was inside of a foot of being safe," Sawada said. "That was way off target, I shouldn’t even have hit it there."

"I gave myself a chance," he said of the overall experience of his first Governor’s Cup qualifier. "That’s what I wanted and I got it, I’m proud of myself."

The field was trimmed to 11 early in the day when Rudy Cabalar Jr. withdrew due an injury. The group will compete together against a team of local pros in the Governor John A. Burns Challenge Cup, set for Dec. 3-4 at Mid Pacific Country Club.