Before thoughts of stepping into the tee box in a PGA Tour event fully engulf Kyle Suppa’s thoughts, the Punahou junior will have a few other matters on his mind.
Most notably, Algebra II and Trigonometry.
Suppa has one more final exam scheduled on Wednesday before taking the rest of the week off from school. Punahou’s academic schedule is particularly fortuitous for Suppa, considering he’ll have tee times in the Sony Open in Hawaii on Thursday and Friday.
Suppa, 16, earned an exemption reserved for a local amateur by winning a qualifier among his Governor’s Cup teammates in November. The opportunity to play in the Sony Open has crossed his mind "probably once a day" since then.
Suppa’s father is a member at Waialae Country Club, so he has a pretty good idea of how to work his way around the layout. By participating in the Acura Hawaii Pro-Junior Challenge on Tuesday, he got a hint of what to expect when he reports for his 1:30 p.m. tee time on Thursday.
"It was good to feel what it’s going to be like on the first tee with a few people watching you," said Suppa, who partnered with John Daly in the annual event leading up to the Sony Open.
Suppa and Daly tied for third in the three-hole scramble won by the team of 2013 Sony Open champion Russell Henley and Moanalua junior Shawn Lu.
The pros and amateurs played alternate shots and Suppa and Daly parred the first two holes, No. 10 and 11. The teams then played the par-5 18th to close the event and Suppa ended his afternoon by draining a 25-foot putt for birdie.
"I hit a couple loose shots on the last two holes, but that felt good to make a good putt on the last hole," said Suppa, who helped Punahou win the past two state championships.
Suppa, the lone amateur in the field, practices at Waialae every day and plays most weekends. He watched Tadd Fujikawa and Lorens Chan represent the amateurs in past tournaments, and the opportunity to play with the tour pros in a Sony Open "was my dream growing up."
Fulfilling that aspiration this week was the culmination of a year in which he led local amateurs in Governor’s Cup points, a chunk coming with his victory in the Hawaii State Amateur Championship in March. The top 12 in the Governor’s Cup standings earn a chance to play in the Sony qualifier and Suppa fired a bogey-free 6-under-par 66 at Waialae on Nov. 24 to secure the spot.
"That was probably the most pressure I’ve felt so far, especially on the last hole," Suppa said. "I was 6 under on the last hole and there’s out-of-bounds (on the) right and I just hit my last two tee shots right, so that was pretty nerve wracking."
He kept his drive left and his par capped a three-stroke victory. He’s spent his practice time since preparing for Sony with a goal of landing above the cut line on Friday.
"I’m hitting my driver pretty well lately, I’ve been hitting a lot of fairways, which is important here," he said. "And my putting is what really got me here and it’s probably what I’ll be leaning on to make it to the weekend."
Suppa played nine holes on Monday and Tuesday and said the course doesn’t appear all that different compared to his regular rounds. ("The rough is a half inch longer maybe," he said.). He suspects the greens will be slightly faster come Thursday.
Tuesday’s event gave him a chance to hang out with four of his fellow juniors — Lu, ‘Iolani senior Rose Huang (who partnered with Jerry Kelly), Punahou junior Aiko Leong (Fred Funk) and Kaiser freshman Malia Nam (Sam Saunders).
Along with Suppa’s putt on 18, the juniors provided some highlights, with Nam making a 20-foot putt for birdie on No. 11 and Lu following with a 10-footer.
Some will likely be back later in the week to support Suppa from outside the ropes.
"It means a lot since basically all of us grew up together. So watching our friend go out there is great," Lu said. "We’re probably going to cheer him on and I know he’ll do well."
