Familiar faces will be absent from event
By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer
At a time when kids are dominating women's golf in Hawai'i, this year's Jennie K. Invitational provides a poignant opportunity to look back.
For the first time practically anyone can remember, Nita Howell and Florence Izumi will not be involved in the state's most storied women's invitational. Howell passed away in September and Izumi in February. Both were 83.
They will be there in spirit tomorrow morning when the first round tees off at 7 at Mid-Pacific Country Club. Nothing would keep them away. They are such an integral part of Mid-Pacific that head pro Mark Sousa remembers them when he was a "kid running barefoot around the golf course."
Howell joined the Mid-Pacific Women's Division in 1955 and was on every Jennie K. committee the next 44 years. She came back to chair the 50th anniversary tournament in 2000 and created the first Senior Flight.
She was fondly called "Mother Superior" at Mid-Pacific for her no-nonsense style, which served her exceptionally well in all the tournaments and luaus she organized.
Her straightforward approach was always tempered by graciousness.
"She had a special gift for making you feel Hawaiian at heart," said friend Alice Boyd, whose daughters attended Howell's Lanikai Private School in the 1960's. Howell, born in Sprecklesville, Maui, was the school's owner and a teacher — when she wasn't golfing or volunteering.
Her gift for giving and giving orders simultaneously was shared by Izumi, a former insurance agent who carried a ruler on the course to measure "too-short shorts" and never ran out of ideas to help golfers play faster.
Her passion for the game knew no bounds and was inherited by daughter Keiki-Dawn, the 1991 state match play champion.
"Flo loved the game of golf," says former Jennie K. champion Bobbi Kokx. "I remember playing once with Flo and Keiki-Dawn and it was raining cats and dogs. I was so glad to see the ninth hole, thinking thank goodness we're finished. But we made the turn because Flo was just forging on."
Izumi was also a passionate gardener whose gardenias are legendary. She usually arrived at the golf course armed with flowers for friends, and pretty much everyone she saw.
At the club's "You Made a Difference" tribute to Izumi and Howell last summer, Cathy Kobayashi said, "Over many years we have learned great truths about living from Florence and Nita."
It wasn't just those at Mid-Pac who learned. The Jennie K. resonates with their personalities, from the dignity of the golf to the reverie of the banquet and the prestige of the weekend.
"The people at Mid-Pac make you feel welcome for sure," Kokx says. "It is always fun. Every time they see you they welcome you like one of their own."
SHORT PUTTS: The Jennie K. championship flight looks like a sequel to last week's state high school championship. Hilo's Kira-Ann Murashige, who won the state title, will defend her Jennie K. title. State runner-up Lehua Wise is also playing, along with Top-15 finishers Amanda Wilson, Mari Chun, Jenna Seki, Christine Kim and Jennie Pleas. ... Murashige and two-time winner Bobbi Kokx, a Kihei school teacher, are the only former champions in this year's field. ... Stephanie Kono and Kimberly Kim, single-digit handicappers who aren't yet in high school, will also play. ... Author Rob Sandler will be autographing "limited first edition" copies of his book "Legends of Hawai'i Golf: The First Century" at the Jennie K. tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. The Women's Division of Mid-Pac will get 20 percent of the day's sales receipts. ... The Hawai'i State Women's Golf Foundation benefit dinner for Lily K. Yao's retirement and 60th birthday is sold out. The dinner is June 13 at the Hawai'i Prince Hotel. The foundation is still encouraging donations. Call 589-2046 for information.
