Hunter Larson is heading to Florida in November for the 42nd National Car Rental PGA Assistant Championship. Larson won the Aloha Section PGA Assistant’s Championship Monday at Hoakalei.
The Kohanaiki pro shot 75-71 in the one-day event to tie Hawaii Kai pro Corey Kozuma at 146. Larson birdied the first hole of the playoff and collected the $1,700 first prize.
Kapalua’s Chris Shimomura took third.
The national championship features a $100,000 purse and a field of 126 players from the 41 PGA Sections.
McDonald rallies for win
Myah McDonald overcame a huge deficit to win the girls championship at last week’s Ka’anapali Hawaii State Junior Golf Association Match Play Championship, played at Ka’anapali’s Kai Course.
Kyung Eun Lee was 4 up after 10 holes, but McDonald cut that in half over the next four holes and sank a 15-foot birdie putt to win the 15th. Lee bogeyed the next hole to square the match and McDonald, a junior at Mid-Pacific Institute, hit her approach to a foot on the 17th to take the lead.
Her 1-up advantage held up when she two-putted for par on the final hole.
Six birdies in a nine-hole span lifted Peter Jung, a Maryknoll sophomore, to a 3-and-2 victory over Noah Koshi in the Boys 15-18 Division.
Joshua Hayashida won the Boys 13-14s on the 21st hole against top-seeded Marshall Kim. Hayashida won the 18th to force extra holes.
Consolation winners were Mari Nakamura (Girls), Ka`ena Kaulia (Boys 13-14) and Pono Yonagi (Boys 15-18).
Alumni pair finish on top
Avery Kageyama and her alumni partner Shawn Tanoue came out first in the Oahu Junior Golf Association’s annual Alumni/Junior Tournament, played last week at Mililani.
The winning score was 61. Kageyama and Tanoue finished just ahead of Ye Won Ham and Christian Akau. Tristan Isidro-Mark Takahama, Nicole Tanoue-Corey Kozuma and Ranson Kaya-Jerry Mullen tied for third.
Beginner classes at Ko Olina
Beginner Get Golf Ready classes start again the end of this month at Ko Olina Golf Club. The five-class series runs five consecutive weeks and includes on-course work with trained PGA pros.
Ko Olina is also offering a “Take it to the Course” class now that features all five classes on the course. The series is open to men and women ages “15-115.”
Sessions begin Aug. 30, Sept. 1 and 2. Call 676-5300 or email lori.wong@koolina.com for more information. You can also visit koolinagolf.com.
The Ko Olina Kidz Club starts again the end of September.
