Manoa Cup champ to play in state event
Advertiser Staff
Manoa Cup champion Travis Toyama is one of 157 juniors from here and Guam who will play in the fourth annual Callaway Hawai'i State Junior Championship, Tuesday and Wednesday at the Hawai'i Prince Golf Course.
Girls and boys compete in four age divisions — 15-18, 13-14, 11-12 and 10-under. The 7-12 year olds will play the A Course twice and the 13-18 year olds play B and C. Play begins at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday and 6:50 a.m. Wednesday.
Toyama, 15, became the youngest state amateur champion when he captured the 94th Manoa Cup last month. He defeated Damien Victorino in the final and 14-year-old Kurt Nino in the semifinals.
Nino will also play Callaway, which features 11 of the 12 juniors who qualified for Hawai'i's Junior Americas Cup and Eddie Hogan Team Cup squads. Players accumulate points at a series of events to qualify for spots on those teams.
The field also includes Stephanie Kono, Amanda and Gabriel Wilson, Lehua Wise, Lindsay Hong, David Hahn, Pomaikai Shishido, Allan Baab, Moses Kahalekulu, Burt Bong and Shaun Felechner. Michelle Wie is spending the summer working on her game on the Mainland and will not play.
In conjunction with the state championship, the Hawai'i State Junior Golf Association will hold a Career Day Wednesday focusing on Opportunities in the Golf Industry. It will be from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. on the lanai adjacent to the Bird of Paradise restaurant. It is open to the public.
The purpose is to make juniors aware there are golf-related opportunities aside from being a golf professional.
OCC men's invitational on tap
The 39th annual O'ahu Country Club Men's Invitational will be next Thursday, Friday and Sunday. All 90 players will compete in the Open Division. There will also be a five-person team competition that ends Friday.
The OCC Seniors event will be played in September this year.
Parker McLachlin will not be able to defend his championship, but 2000 winner Joe Phengsavath is entered. Others in the field include former champions Brandan Kop (1998) and Wendell Kop (1986 and '89) and Manoa Cup champions Ryan Koshi and Randy Shibuya.
Play begins at 6:45 each morning.
Women's events on schedule
Three tournaments affiliated with the Hawai'i State Women's Golf Association are coming up in August.
The 48th annual Maui Women's Invitational will be Aug. 3, at Pukalani Country Club, and Aug. 4, at Maui Country Club. Entries are being accepted, and are limited to the first 80 received.The tournament is open to women 18 and older, with a July handicap index of 33.5 or less. For more information, call 244-4195 or 877-5433, on Maui.
The HSWGA Stroke Play Championship will be Aug. 6-8 at Mid-Pacific Country Club. Michelle Wie won last year at the age of 11. Players must be a member of the HSWGA or Hawai'i State Junior Golf Association, with a handicap index of 9.4 or less.
For entry forms, call 262-2428, e-mail hswga@lava.net or go to 808golf.com or hswga.org to download an application.
Local qualifying for the U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur will be Aug. 20 at Mid-Pac. The national tournament is Sept. 21-26 at Eugene Country Club in Oregon. Players must be 25 or older, with a handicap index of 9.4 or less. Entries are due July 30 and can be downloaded at usga.org. Call 262-2428 for information.
