AROUND THE GREENS
Head to head
By Bill Kwon
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| Chase Chulakote of Kailua High School is the reigning State Amateur Stroke Play champion.
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| University High's Travis Toyama became the youngest titlist at the Manoa Cup last year. |
They're not only the individual champions of their respective leagues — Toyama the winner of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu and Chulakote the champion in the O'ahu Interscholastic Association — they're also the reigning title holders of the two major men's amateur championships.
Toyama became the youngest winner in Manoa Cup history last year and Chulakote stunned a veteran field to win the Hawai'i State Amateur Stroke Play Championship in March.
So we're not only talking about high school bragging rights here. The two young guns are already among the leading amateur golfers in the state.
"It's neat how we're meeting like this, OIA and ILH (champions)," said Toyama, who was 15 when he won the 2002 Manoa Cup.
"Right now, he's really consistent. There aren't too many glitches in his game," Toyama said of Chulakote, who beat him by two strokes for the state amateur title.
And Chulakote, who plans to enroll at the University of Hawai'i this fall and try out for the golf team, is also aware of Toyama's game after a number of previous encounters.
After the state tournament, their next duel could come in the 95th Manoa Cup next month. As defending champion, Toyama is seeded No. 1 automatically but Chulakote will need to qualify for the 64-player field.
Chulakote didn't make it last year but there's extra incentive this time. He can be the first to win both the amateur stroke-play and match-play championships in the same calendar year. That would be a remarkable achievement for Chulakote, who had won only junior golf tournaments until his breakthrough victory in the state amateur.
"He has really worked hard on his game," said Chulakote's instructor, Kevin Ralbovsky. It's not uncommon for Chulakote to practice seven days a week.
For now, both Toyama and Chulakote are concentrating on the state tournament.
"There will be a lot of competition, not just the two of us," said Toyama, whose feels his strength is his driver. "For my size (5 feet 6, 135 pounds), I think I hit the ball pretty far."
He averages nearly 300 yards off the tee.
"My short game is decent, but there are places I can improve," said the University High junior.
"I don't hit it that long, around 280 yards. My strength is probably my up-and-down game," said Chulakote.
Both expect the Kings' Course, known for its windy conditions, to play difficult.
"You can't hit a lot of full shots. You've got to hit knockdown shots, if it's windy," Chulakote said.
"You've got to hit it well," added Toyama.
Both Windward youngsters —Chulakote lives in Kailua, Toyama in Kane'ohe — grew up in the junior golf program, starting as 11-year-olds. And they both remember their first golf experiences.
"My mom (Mira) signed me up for a golf lesson at the Windward Community College," said Chulakote, whose Thai father, Wima, only golfs for recreation.
Toyama's influence came from his dad, Masa, a 2-handicapper. But he recalls his first junior golf tournament at Hickam. "I remember being really nervous and carrying a blue denim golf bag my mother (Corinne) made for me," Toyama said.
They've both come a long way.
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Chuck Larson loved Hawai'i so much after being stationed at Hickam Air Base 36 years ago that he moved back here the day after he retired from the Air Force in 1975.
His love affair with golf also began at Hickam, where his first job was running a par-3 course only a year after touching a golf club for the first time at the age of 34.
"I made up my mind then to become a golf professional," said Larson, who with his wife, Thelma, will move to Lincoln, Calif., next week to be closer to their two daughters and grandchildren.
"I'm not retiring. I plan to be active with the Northern California Section of the PGA," said Larson, director of golf at the Honolulu International Country Club for 9 1/2 years and Kane'ohe Klipper for eight years.
He also served on the Aloha Section PGA board of directors and headed its rules committee.
"Larry Harris was a big factor in my life," said Larson. "He first hired me at Hickam and then at the Honolulu International Country Club when he was also there."
At HICC, now the Honolulu Country Club, Larson ran a junior golf program that developed future pros Aaron Bengoechea, Scott Head and Shane Abe.
"We're excited but we're going to miss a lot of good people here. I have a lot of good memories," Larson said.
Bill Kwon can be reached at bkwon@aloha.net.
