Cotner enjoying Nationwide Tour
By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer
BOISE, Idaho — It wasn't exactly the Hawaiian Club, but Keoke Cotner sure was happy to see a few familiar faces on the Nationwide Tour last week.
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With Punahou freshman Michelle Wie playing on a sponsor's exemption and Punahou graduate Parker McLachlin qualifying to play in his inaugural event as a pro, the Albertsons Boise Open took on a tiny 'ohana atmosphere until the weekend. All three Hawai'i golfers missed the cut.
"I'm slowly but surely getting where I want to go," Keoke Cotner said.
Cotner graduated from Kamehameha Schools the year Wie was born (1989). He turned pro in 1994 and finished 21st at the 1998 Hawaiian Open. Two years later, he joined the Nationwide Tour, the PGA's developmental circuit.
Cotner won the 2000 Oregon Classic and finished 25th on last year's money list with nearly $145,000 and 10 Top-25 finishes. This year he's won $60,000 and will have to more than double that to get into the Top 20 and earn his 2004 PGA Tour playing card.
For now, he is enjoying his time on tour.
Cotner came to Boise with wife Tisha (Tanaka) and 3 1/2-year-old daughter Kassidy. Keoke and Tisha, originally from Kaua'i, met at Kamehameha and live in Bedford, Texas, where he plays out of the Trophy Club.
"The guys out here are a little more humble, laid back, more appreciative of what they have and where they want to go," Keoke said. "I'm slowly but surely getting where I want to go. I've learned a lot, become a better overall tournament player — just from playing and competing against really good players."
Cotner used to travel with brother Kawika, who is 4 1/2 years older and played on the PGA Tour in 1995 and Nationwide in 1996. About five years ago, as they were driving back from Florida, Kawika told his brother he was quitting golf. Now he sells medical equipment and ventures back to the game only when Keoke asks for help.
"When something is seriously wrong I'll ask him," Keoke said. "He won't offer, he'll wait for me and give his opinion about how to change my approach, not technically but mentally. What pro golf teaches you is that it's not how you feel in the morning. Anybody can play great when they feel great. It's those days when you don't feel great and still know how to get into the clubhouse. That makes you consistent the entire year."
SHORT PUTTS
Michelle Wie's next-to-last-place standing Friday was somewhat misleading. Three others who could have finished behind her withdrew. Another was disqualified when he hit the wrong ball — after four consecutive double bogeys. ...ÊSome of the best lines inspired by Wie at Boise included "You're the Girl" and, from the lips of a hopeful eighth-grader Friday, "She needs a couple holes-in-one to make the cut." ... In the final days of summer, Boise's early-morning temperatures were in the 40s and 50s when players teed off. ... Wie's average driving distance over two rounds was 284 yards. ... Michelle's father BJ said it would "be impossible to come back" to Boise next year if another sponsor's exemption was offered because he could not leave work. BJ, a transportation professor at the University of Hawai'i, is taking a sabbatical this school year to help his daughter's golf game. ... While Michelle signed hundreds of autographs in Boise, BJ and wife Bo took pictures of fans with their daughter.
Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8043.
