Hawaii’s Pono Tokioka and Gerald Isobe qualified for next year’s World Deaf Golf Championships with top-five finishes last week at the U.S. championships in Urbana, Md.
Tokioka, a junior on the University of Hawaii golf team, finished fourth in the Men’s Division at 78-313. He was 15 strokes out of first, but 12 ahead of the sixth-place finisher. The top six men qualified for the 2016 World Championships in Denmark.
Isobe earned the final spot among the seniors, finishing fifth at 83-333.
It will be Isobe’s seventh trip to the World Championships and Tokioka’s third.
Nam advances at U.S. Girls Junior championship
Hawaii had five golfers qualify for match play at this week’s U.S. Girls Junior championship, but Kaiser sophomore Malia Nam was the only one to get out of the first round Wednesday.
Nam won three of the last four holes to beat Texan Kristen Gillman, 2 and 1, at Tulsa Country Club in Oklahoma. The OIA champ meets Thailand’s Chakansim Khamborn in Thursday’s second round.
Nam tied for seventh in stroke-play qualifying Monday and Tuesday, shooting 70-68. Three-time state high school champ Mariel Galdiano (71-68) was 10th, but she got beat by former Hawaii resident Aneka Seumanutafa in the first round, also by a 2-and-1 score.
Seumanutafa, who moved to Frederick, Md., last year, birdied two of the last three holes. Galdiano was one of eight girls who played in this year’s U.S. Women’s Open to qualify for match play.
Allisen Corpuz, Rose Huang and Jennifer Koga also finished in the top 64 to advance to match play, but were defeated Wednesday. Huang fell on the 20th hole, while Koga was defeated 1-up and Corpuz lost 2 and 1.
Mari Nishiura and Aiko Leong did not qualify for match play. Kyosuke Hara, Hawaii’s only participant in the U.S. Junior at Bluffton, S.C., also did not advance to match play.
First Tee Hawaii hosting golf day and yard sale
First Tee Hawaii is hosting a Family Golf Day and Yard Sale Saturday at Hawaii Country Club, from 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
There will be games, activities and free 15-minute golf lessons. New and used golf equipment will be for sale, along with food and drinks. Information about the First Tee program will also be available.
After that event, there will be a nine-hole family fun tournament. Kids 17 and under can play free with a paying adult ($25 with cart).
First Tee Hawaii is also holding a training session for anyone interested in coaching and volunteering with the program. That will be Sunday at Hawaii Country Club, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The session is free and includes lunch and drinks.
Those who want to attend the training session can contact Kellan Anderson, at 202-6456 or kanderson@thefirstteehawaii.org.
First Tee Hawaii’s next sessions start Aug. 1, at 13 sites across the state. Programs are available for golfers between 5 and 17 and all golf equipment is provided.
First Tee Hawaii teaches "valuable life skills, essential core values, and healthy habits through the game of golf."
For more information, visit thefirstteehawaii.org.
Suppa has top local finish at IMG World Championship
Kyle Suppa, who made the cut in this year’s PGA Tour Sony Open in Hawaii, had the best finish among Hawaii golfers at last week’s IMG Junior World Championship, in San Diego.
The tournament, which began in 1968, featured some 1,200 participants from 56 countries and 42 states.
Suppa, about to start his senior year at Punahou, closed with a 70 and tied for seventh in the oldest age division. His 72-hole score was 292. Punahou teammate Andrew Chin took 10th, a shot back.
In the 15-17 Girls Division, Tuan-yu Chiang (71-295) finished 12th and Malia Nam (74-297) was 14th.
Younger age divisions played 54 holes with no cut. Miki Manta, Allysha Mae Mateo, Karissa Kilby, Reina Iiizumi and Joshua Chung all had top-20 finishes.
Hawaii results:
15-17: Boys – T7, Kyle Suppa 70-292; 10, Andrew Chin 73-293; T16 Kyosuke Hara 74-296. Girls – T12, Tuan-yu Chiang 71-295; 14, Malia Nam 74-297.
13-14: Boys – T88, Ethan Dezzani 75-227; T124, Kolbe Irei 78-235; T129 Pono Yanagi 78-236; T132 Davis Lee 80-237. Girls – T15, Miki Manta 70-221; T20, Allysha Mae Mateo 73-223; T30, Jennifer Koga 74-225.
11-12: Boys – T40, Jacob Torres 76-228; T54, Go Nakatsukasa 72-231; T75, Torin Dezzani 80-238; T83, Kelly Chinn 82-241. Girls – 15, Karissa Kilby 74-229; T19, Reina Iiizumi 72-231; T31, Minny Byun 75-237; T58, Tagiralani Luafalealo 84-252.
9-10: Boys – T12, Joshua Chung 63-191; T49, Ariihau Faana 63-205; T70, Dysen Park 72-212; 76, Anson Cabello 70-216. Girls – T31, Ashley Koga 61-193; 43, Rachael Wang 66-201; 55, Mia Cepeda 70-215; 59, Michiko Ejima 69-224.
7-8: Boys – T42, Tristan Bayot 68-215. Girls – 34, Mira Kubo; 36, Ava Cepeda 75-220.
16 Hawaii juniors move on in Drive, Chip and Putt
Sixteen junior golfers advanced from the Drive, Chip and Putt subregional at Ko Olina on Saturday. The free national skills competition is sponsored by the PGA of America, Masters Tournament Foundation, and USGA.
Hawaii’s qualifiers go to the California Regional at Torrey Pines in September. The 80 golfers that advance from the 10 regionals will play in the final at Augusta National Golf Club, the Sunday before the 2016 Masters.
Hawaii Regional qualifiers:
14-15: Girls – Marin Mizuno (118 points) and Amanda Rathbun (65). Boys – Gunwook Baik (134) and Jonathan Morikawa (132)
12-13: Girls – Miku Abe (124) and Summer Wong (111. Boys – Puniawa Vedder (140) and Caleb Chumley (125).
10-11: Girls – Raya Nakao (127) and Elle Otani (94). Boys – Rayden Hara-Shimabuku (122) and Matthew Tigrett (121).
7-9: Girls – Arenui Faana (109), Maile Wong (83). Boys – Noah Otani (100) and Luke Seno (93).
Off-island courses take part in Juniors Play Free
Golf courses at Ka’anapali on Maui and Puakea on Kauai are continuing their annual "Juniors Play Free — Bring the Ohana" program through the end of this month.
Both sites are managed by Billy Casper Golf.
Golfers ages 7-17, accompanied by a paying adult, can play or ride for free at Ka’anapali Kai and Puakea.
Ka’anapali has a par-71 junior course that measures 2,459 yards. Puakea also offers a $1-per-hole promotion for juniors the rest of the year.
For more information, visit kaanapaligolfcourses.com or puakeagolf.com, or call 808-661-3691 (Ka’anapali) or 808-245-8756 (Puakea).
