Kapalua staffer wins on home golf course
By Bill Kwon
Special to The Advertiser
KAPALUA, Maui — With 15 of the 40 players in the field representing Kapalua, chances were good that a golfer wearing the resort's butterfly logo would win the Verizon Hall of Fame Golf Championship.
Still, Kapalua's Doug Bohn didn't like his odds after double-bogeying the par-3 second hole at the start of yesterday's final round.
"I wasn't thinking of winning then," said Bohn, who went on to shoot seven birdies and a 68 to win by five strokes over defending champion Kevin Hayashi.
"A lot of things were going through my mind, but not many of them were positive," Bohn said.
Bohn posted a 36-hole score of 7-under 139, while Hayashi, the first-day leader with a 69, had a balky putter and closed with a 2-over 75 at the Plantation Course.
The victory was worth $3,000 for Bohn, who had finished second to Hayashi here last year.
"I stayed with my game plan after that (second) hole. It was to play one shot at a time, try to get back on a positive note. Obviously, it worked out pretty good," Bohn said. "Good thing I was in a flow and nothing bad happened after that."
Chipping close and putting well, Bohn didn't come close to bogey.
He birdied the fifth, seventh and ninth holes to make the turn at one-under 35 and came in with four more birdies at 10, 12, 14 and 18.
Meanwhile, Hayashi bogeyed the second and third holes. He lost further momentum by three-putting the 532-yard fifth hole after leaving his eagle try five feet short. Another three-putt — this time for bogey at 13 — ended any hopes of catching Bohn.
Playing in the group ahead of Hayashi, Bohn didn't ask where he stood in relation to Hayashi until the 16th hole. By then he was four strokes up on Hayashi.
"I get easily distracted. I didn't want to know. I just wanted to stay with my game plan," said Bohn, a 35-year-old Michigan native who joined the Kapalua staff seven years ago.
Brian Sasada, Beau Yokomoto, Brendan Moynahan and John Freitas tied for third at 146.
Rodney Acia of Hilo birdied the par-5 18th to win the senior flight by one stroke over Larry Stubblefield. Acia shot a 70 yesterday for a 146 total, while Stubblefield closed with a 73 for a 147.
