Golfer’s busy summer begins at home in Maui
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By Bill Kwon
Talk about Maui no ka 'oi, especially when it comes to golf on the Valley Island this weekend.
Photo courtesy of Tamara Felechner
The popular 54-hole Maui Open, first played in 1952, begins tomorrow at Makena's South Course. It's all business for the pros, including defending champion Casey Nakama and Kevin Hayashi, who were involved in a three-hole playoff last year.
Lahainaluna sophomore Shaun Felechner will play in several PGA Junior Tour events this summer and the Junior Ryder Cup in September.
Among the top amateurs in the field are Maui's own Ryan Koshi and Randy Shibuya, the last two Manoa Cup champions who are undoubtedly using the tournament as a tuneup for a second victory in the Hawai'i State Amateur Match Play Championship next week at the Oahu Country Club.
One of Hawai'i's up-and-coming amateurs in the Maui Open is Shaun Felechner, a 15-year-old Lahainaluna High School sophomore with a 3-handicap who will be playing in the championship flight with the big boys of local golf. Maui's Joan Shimozaki, home after her freshman year on the University of San Francisco golf team, is the lone wahine in the field.
Felechner is also using the Maui Open as a warm-up for what promises to be an exciting summer of golf. He leaves next week for several PGA Junior Tour events in Missouri, Illinois, Idaho and Nevada.
The young Maui resident might not have been as heralded by the local media as some of the other players coming out of Hawai'i's junior golf program. But he has already made a name for himself nationally.
Felechner is one of only six boys selected to play on the U.S. Junior Ryder Cup team, which will play the European team in Ireland Sept. 25-26, just before the 34th Ryder Cup at The Belfrey in Sutton Coldfield, England.
"We get to watch the real Ryder Cup after," said Felechner, who made the team based on a point system after performances in a series of 11 national tournaments sponsored by the PGA of America last summer. Felechner recorded five top-10 finishes while playing in six of the PGA Junior Tour events.
And he did it the hard way.
He was among five players competing for the final spot in the tour's final event at the Eagle Crest Country Club in Oregon. Felechner shot a final-round 70 for a 54-hole total of 216. Awesome, considering he started the tournament bogeying his first five holes.
Like the Ryder Cup, the junior team, which includes six girls, also had its tournament postponed until this September because of the tragic events of 9/11.
In a way, he was glad that competition was postponed. He had been afraid of flying to Europe so soon after the terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington D.C.
"I felt that this was a very tragic event and fully understood why the Junior Ryder Cup and Ryder Cup competitions were delayed," he said.
Felechner will miss about two weeks of school, but it shouldn't be a problem for Felechner, who maintains a 4.0 grade-point average.
"Right from the beginning, Shaun has had a huge passion for golf. He has a huge work ethic," said Jerry King, director of the Kapalua Golf Academy.
King has been Felechner's instructor since Felechner first took up golf five years ago.
"Family and studies come first for him, then golf," said King. "His game peaks during the summer because that's when he can put 100 percent into golf."
Felechner also has received an exemption to the PGA Junior Championship in Westfield, Ohio, July 17-21 as a member of the Junior Ryder Cup team.
"He has a no-give-up attitude and an even temperament. You can't tell the difference if he shoots a 68 or an 86," said his father, Jim Felechner, who is with 141 Communicator, a sports group involved with the marketing and production of two PGA Tour events — the Sony Open in Hawai'i and the Turtle Bay Championship.
King also is playing in the Maui Open, along with three-time winner Brian Sasada, who could enjoy a "home-field" advantage because all three rounds will be played at the Makena Golf Club where he's an assistant pro.
Furyk back at Kapalua
Jim Furyk won the Memorial Tournament last week and qualified for the 2003 Mercedes Championships at the Plantation Course next Jan. 9-12.
Furyk loves Maui, calling it his "favorite spot in the entire world." He built a home between the fourth tee and 18th green at the course where he won twice, the 2001 Mercedes Championship and the 1995 Lincoln-Mercury Kapalua International.
"That was a big win for us," said Gary Planos, vice president of the resort's operations. "I just talked to Mike Furyk, Jim's dad. They're all excited to be coming here now that their house is completed."
Bill Kwon can be reached at bkwon@aloha.net
