As the best players on the planet descend on Maui for the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, beginning next Thursday at Kapalua Plantation, it’s a good time to glance back at Hawaii golf in 2015.
In May, Mariel Galdiano got the trifecta — twice.
She won her third state high school championship and goes for a record fourth next year at Wailua.
“That is one thing I am definitely striving for,” Galdiano says. “However, it is not going to come easy. I just have to keep working hard and practicing and hopefully it will turn out well.”
The Punahou senior then qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open and defended her title in the Jennie K. Invitational. She opened what is now the lone “major” for Hawaii women with a 65 and won by 15 shots.
The future UCLA Bruin was 42nd at the Open, the second-best finish by an amateur. She followed that up with a win at the Canadian Women’s Amateur and is currently the eighth-ranked amateur woman in the world.
Just for kicks, she got to watch the Americans’ dramatic Solheim Cup victory over Europe at St. Leon-Rot in Germany days after she helped Team USA get its first Junior Solheim Cup win on foreign soil.
Shawn Lu and Tyler Ota did not cover quite as much ground, but also had a memorable 2015 … beyond playing on the first amateur team to lose a Governor’s Cup to the pros since 2006.
Ota, a Moanalua graduate, became the latest to win the Manoa Cup and OCC Invitational the same year.
Lu, a Moanalua senior headed to Oregon State, opened the year by teaming with 2013 Sony Open in Hawaii champ Russell Henley to win the Pro-Junior Skills Challenge.
A day earlier, Jimmy Walker came within a shot of winning the Hyundai TOC. Five days later, Walker breezed to a successful defense of his Sony Open title.
In March, Lu captured the State Stroke Play championship. By the end of the year, he also had collected a handful of four-ball and Hawaii State Junior Golf Association titles and earned the Sony Open amateur exemption.
He tees off at Waialae Country Club Jan. 14 hoping to duplicate Kyle Suppa’s 2015 feat of making the cut in the PGA Tour’s first full-field event of the year. Suppa was the first amateur to play on Saturday since Tadd Fujikawa in 2007.
This month, Nick Mason hit his own golf trifecta. The University of Hawaii-Hilo graduate outlasted Parker McLachlin on the fifth playoff hole to win his third Hawaii State Open — and 11th State Open title overall, in five states. Mason also captured Minor League Golf Tour stops at Pearl and Makaha.
Finally, the Rainbow Wahine grabbed their first team championship in 19 years at the Hobble Creek Fall Classic. Eimi Koga, another Moanalua alum who had just transferred to UH from Washington, was a medalist. This month Koga qualified for the LPGA of Japan and ended her collegiate career.
2015 CHAMPIONS
JANUARY
Hyundai Tournament of Champions: Patrick Reed
Acura Hawaii Pro-Junior Skills Challenge: Russell Henley and Shawn Lu
Sony Open in Hawaii: Jimmy Walker
Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai: Miguel Jimenez
FEBRUARY
Amer Ari Intercollegiate: Arizona State and Cheng-Tsung Pan (Washington)
UH-Manoa John A. Burns Intercollegiate: California and Shotaro Ban (Cal)
Eighth annual HSGA Four Ball: Kyosuke Hara and Shawn Lu
MARCH
Donnis Thompson Invitational: Oklahoma State and Marijosse Navarro (Texas A&M)
Hawaii State Amateur Stroke Play Championship: Shawn Lu
Anuenue Spring Break Classic: UC Davis and Andrea Wong (UC Davis)
Aloha Section PGA Assistants Four Ball: Don Wilburn and Jason Jakovac
APRIL
LPGA Lotte Championship: Sei Young Kim
Mid-Pacific Open: Bradley Shigezawa, Kevin Hayashi (Senior), Brent Grant (Amateur), Mike Kawate (Senior Am)
Francis Brown Four Ball: Shawn Lu and Jun Ho Won
MAY
David S. Ishii Foundation Hawaii State Girls High School Championship: Punahou and Mariel Galdiano (Punahou)
David S. Ishii Foundation Hawaii State Boys High School Championship: Punahou and Spencer Dunaway (Kamehameha)
U.S. Women’s Open sectional qualifier: Mariel Galdiano
Jennie K. Wilson Invitational: Mariel Galdiano
U.S. Senior Open qualifier: David Ishii
Callaway Junior World Qualifier: 7-8—Tristan Bayot and Mira Kubo, Ava Cepeda; 9-10—Joshua Chung, Ariihau Faana, Dysen Park, Anson Cabello and Ashley Koga, Rachael Wang, Michiko Ejima, Mia Cepeda: 11-12—Torin Dezzani, Jacob Torres, Isaiah Kanno, Kelly Chinn and Karissa Kilby, Reina Iiizumi, Tagiralani Luafalealo; 13-14—Pono Yanagi, AJ Teraoka, Davis Lee, Kolbe Irei and Allysha Mae Mateo, Miki Manta, Jennifer Koga; 15-17—Kyosuke Hara, Justin Arcano, Andrew Chin, Jun Ho Won and Malia Nam, Tuan-yu Chiang, Jasmine Cabajar, Aiko Leong.
Aloha Section PGA Jr. Championship: Malia Nam and Kyosuke Hara
ASPGA Pro-Pro Championship: Kevin Hayashi and Kevin Carll
JUNE
Manoa Cup: Tyler Ota
HSJGA King Auto 12-under State Championship: 11-12—Kelly Chinn and Kyung Lee; 7-10—Joshua Chung and Ashley Koga.
HSWGA Match Play Championship: Mira Han
Adams Junior Qualifier: Top finishers—Alanis Sakuma, Zoe-Ann Yamamoto and Sian Rogers, Justin Williamson.
Optimist Junior Qualifier: Top finishers—Kyung Eun Lee, Jennifer Koga, Millburn Ho, Claire Choi, Rose Huang and Joshua Hayashida, Jacob Kiyoshi Torres, Evan Kawai, Shawn Lu.
U.S. Girls Junior Amateur Qualifier: Mari Nishiura, Malia Nam and Jennifer Koga
U.S. Junior Amateur Qualifier: Kyosuke Hara
Dave and Busters Jr. Classic: 15-18—Jun Ho Won and Mari Nishiura; 13-14—AJ Teraoka and Reese Guzman.
Pearl Invitational: Kyosuke Hara
JULY
HSJGA King Auto 13-18 State Championship: 15-18—Malia Nam and Zackary Kaneshiro; 13-14—Allysha Mae Mateo and Jordan Terada.
Barbers Point Invitational: PJ Samiere, Peter Olson (Senior)
Women’s Amateur Qualifier: Aiko Leong and Marissa Chow
Waialae Women’s Invitational: Kimberlie Miyamoto and Kasandra Shriver (low net)
U.S. Amateur Qualifier: John Oda
Nike Golf Four Ball: Cory Oride and Jared Sawada
OJGA Pearl Junior Open: 15-18—Shawn Lu and Iris Kawada; 13-14—Gunwok Baik and Tory Nakata; 11-12—Jacob Torres Kyungeun Lee; 10-under—Joshua Chung and Rachael Wang.
Canadian Women’s Amateur: Mariel Galdiano
AUGUST
Army Invitational: SJ Maeng
Maui Open: Ryan Acosta, Kirk Nelson (Senior)
Eddie Hogan Cup: Hawaii (Zackary Kaneshiro, Justin Williamson, Justin Arcano and Kengo Aoshima)
Oahu Country Club Men’s Invitational: Tyler Ota, Scott Ichimura (Senior)
HSJGA Mixed Team Championship: Malia Nam and Zachary Kaneshiro
National Car Rental Assistant Championship: John Hearn
Oahu Country Club Women’s Invitational: Kristen Le, Bev Grimmer (low net)
Senior SPC/Senior Championship: Lance Taketa, Kenny Springer (Super Senior)
Visa Hall of Fame Championship: Kevin Carll
Ka‘anapali HSJGA Match Play Championship: Kirsten Ishikawa, Shawn Lu and Jordan Terada
SEPTEMBER
Hickam Invitational: Jun Ho Won, Carl Ho (Seniors), Phil Anamizu (Super Seniors)
Mayor’s Cup: Kyle Suppa
Hobble Creek Classic: University of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine and Eimi Koga (Hawaii)
HSWGA State Senior Championship: Bev Kim
Aloha Section PGA Professional Championship: Garrett Okamura
OCTOBER
Turtle Bay Amateur: Kyosuke Hara
HSWGA Stroke Play Championship: Patty Schremmer
H2 Invitational: Kala Ka‘aihue and Wade Nakamura
Rainbow Wahine Invitational: Brigham Young and Rose Huang (BYU/‘Iolani)
Dennis Rose Women’s Intercollegiate: UH-Hilo and Cal State Monterey Bay (co-champs) and Jennifer Liedes (St. Martin’s)
Dennis Rose Men’s Intercollegiate: Cal State Monterey Bay and Clayton Yamaguchi (UC San Diego)
NOVEMBER
Bridgestone Pro-Scratch: Corey Kozuma and Shawn Lu
Warrior Princeville Makai Invitational: Alabama and Cameron Young (Wake Forest)
Ka‘anapali Collegiate Classic Invitational: Oklahoma and Zach Healy (Georgia)
Ninth annual HSJGA Asia-Pacific Junior Cup: Japan 17.5, Hawaii 14.5
43rd Gov. John Burns Challenge Cup: Pros 15.5, Amateurs 8.5
Sony Open in Hawaii amateur qualifying: Shawn Lu
DECEMBER
USGA Four-Ball qualifier: Justin Arcano and Justin Ngan
Michelle Wie HSJGA Tournament of Champions: 7-10—Rachael Wang and Joshua Chung; 11-12—Kyung Eun Lee and Isaiah Kanno; 13-14—Allysha Mae Mateo and Pono Yanagi; 15-18—Allisen Corpuz and Kyle Suppa.
Mauna Lani Resort Hawaii State Open: Nick Mason, Britney Yada (Women), Jeff Colston (Senior), Kyle Suppa (Amateur), Kristen Peterson (Women’s Amateur)
Pearl Country Club Classic: Nick Mason
Honolulu Country Club Junior: Joshua Chung and Rachael Wang (10-under); Kelly Chinn and Kyungeun Lee (11-12); AJ Teraoka and Millburn Ho (13-14); Brentt Salas and Mari Nishiura (15-18).
Makaha 2-Day: Nick Mason
