A year ago Cassy Isagawa and Kacie Komoto played an epic Hawaii State Women’s Match Play semifinal that seemed as if it would never end.
Maybe it never did. This morning, the two former state high school champions will take up where they left off when they play for the championship at Oahu Country Club.
Isagawa earned a chance to defend her title by ousting two-time champion Nicole Sakamoto on the 18th hole Thursday, 1-up. Sakamoto, heading to LPGA Qualifying’s first stage next month, started their semifinal with two eagles.
In the other semifinal, Komoto finally closed out Cyd Okino — another two-time champion — with a 12-foot birdie putt at the 17th. The score was 3 and 1. Komoto started the day with three birdies on the first four holes to go 3-up.
The 2012 state champion just graduated from Punahou and will golf for Northwestern this fall. She was the only semifinalist who has not played collegiate golf — yet. Isagawa and Okino are going to Oregon and Washington, while Sakamoto ended a record-setting career at James Madison a year ago.
The kid, wearing a Hawaii State Junior Golf Association shirt, was 4-up at the turn — and 4-under par.
Okino birdied the 10th to win her first hole. Thanks to two Komoto lip-outs, the score didn’t change until Komoto bogeyed the 16th to cut her lead to two.
She didn’t give herself a chance at bogey on the next hole, burying her birdie putt to close out Okino.
"She’s very consistent, doesn’t make many mistakes," said Okino, who won her first match-play title at 11. "It’s her home course, you can’t expect her to make many mistakes. If I had a chance for birdie I had to make it."
While Okino was rallying in desperation mode, Komoto tried to re-discover the "pace" that was so good for her on the front nine.
"It’s my home course and I get a little too comfortable sometimes," said Komoto, who won the State Stroke Play Championship four years ago. "I wanted to make sure I didn’t do that."
It took Isagawa 24 holes to take Komoto out in last year’s semifinals, and she needed to one-putt every extra hole to do it.
Isagawa, the 2010 state champion as a Baldwin junior, has shown a knack for coming up with pressure shots.
She was a second-team All-American as a freshman and lifted the Ducks to the NCAA Tournament this year, with the country’s 22nd-best scoring average (72.86). Three years ago, she won the PGA Junior Championship and played on the Junior Ryder Cup team.
Isagawa waited out Sakamoto’s stunning start — she sank a 10-foot eagle putt at No. 1 and holed out from the bunker on the next — and caught her by the fifth hole.
Sakamoto regretted "a putt that shouldn’t have been missed" early that "ruined the momentum," while Isagawa lamented lots of mis-read putts.
Still, both made the turn in 4 under. The back wasn’t quite as stellar, but the lead was always in doubt and both were crushing their drives on the way in.
"I kind of figured something out in the back nine and it kind of came together after that," Isagawa said. "I told myself not to push anything, not to be too aggressive unless you really need to."
Sakamoto’s three-putt on the 14th squared the match for the last time. Isagawa’s three-foot birdie putt on the 17th was the difference.
"She was putting well all day, that was one of the few hiccups I’d seen," Isagawa said. "I thought, we’re both getting tired, we’re both really trying to grind out there. After that hole I said this is your chance to take advantage of the last few holes."
The championship starts at 7 this morning.
HAWAII STATE WOMEN’S MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP
At Oahu Country Club
Thursday’s Results
Quarterfinals
Cassy Isagawa def. Alice Kim, 2 and 1
Nicole Sakamoto def. Kristen Sawada, 6 and 5
Kacie Komoto def. Hansol Koo, 3 and 1
Cyd Okino def. Aiko Leong, 2 and 1
Semifinals
Cassy Isagawa def. Nicole Sakamoto, 1-up
Kacie Komoto def. Cyd Okino, 3 and 1
