AROUND THE GREENS
Porter-King, Nahale will enter Hawai'i Hall

By Bill Kwon

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HAWAI'I GOLF HALL OF FAME MEMBERS 2004—Mary Bea Porter-King, George Nahale Sr. 2003—Marga Stubblefield, Beverly Kong Kim 2002—Lance Suzuki, Dan Nishimoto. 2001—Chuck Davis, Marshall "Chipper" Garriss, Larry Stubblefield 2000—Billy Arakawa, Barrett Melvin, Mark Rolfing 1999—David "Bones" Bettencourt, Tura Nagatoshi, Walter Nagorski 1998—Edna Lee Jackola, Jack Omuro, Hope Yee 1997—Art Fujita, Sam Kaaua, Paul Spengler 1996—Ben Neeley, Al Souza 1995—Codie Austin Cooke, Charles Chung, James Reilly 1994—Ron Castillo Sr., Jackie Yates Holt, Wendell Kop 1993—Kenneth Brown, Morgan Fottrell, Masa Kaya 1992—Hung Soo Ahn, Ramona McGuire, Ken Miyaoka 1991—Tai On Chock, Paul Scodeller, Allan Yamamoto 1990—Thomas Ching, Monte Ito, John Kalinka, Charles Makaiwa, Robert "Bob" Tom 1989—Alex Bell, Merrill Carlsmith, Joan Damon, Owen Douglass, Bill Gee, Toyo Shirai 1988—Arthur Armstrong, Ted Benedict, Francis Brown, Gov. John A. Burns, Babe Carter, Guinea Kop

Wie won't be eligible until she's 50, the age required to be so honored. Unless, of course, a special exemption is made. After all, it shouldn't be surprising if Wie one day becomes the youngest member of the local golf hall of fame. She has been the youngest in nearly everything else.

The selection committee of the Aloha Section PGA is continuing to honor deserving members of Hawai'i's golf scene. The addition of Porter-King and Nahale brings to 55 the number of golfers inducted into the hall since it began in 1988.

They will be officially inducted at the Hawai'i Golf Hall of Fame luncheon on April 26 at the Hawai'i Prince Hotel.

"I'm obviously honored. It's quite a surprise," said Porter-King, for whom golf has come full circle.

She started learning the game and all its nuances as a 7-year-old, graduating to an All-America career at Arizona State, winning medalist honors in the 1973 LPGA Qualifying School and capturing the 1975 LPGA Golf Inns of America Classic.

Since moving to Kaua'i in 1989, she has helped found and served as president of the Hawai'i State Junior Golf Association, helped found and played on the Women's Senior Golf tour and become the first female professional, and Hawai'i resident, to serve on the U.S. Golf Association Executive Committee.

As a member of the executive committee, Porter-King persuaded the USGA to hold the U.S. Open sectional qualifying for both the men and women championships in Hawai'i for the first time this year.

Porter-King's work with the Hawai'i State Junior Golf Association has also given a new generation of local youngsters more opportunity to compete all over the state and Mainland.

Her most memorable accomplishment took place just outside a golf course, during a 1988 LPGA qualifying round. Porter-King looked over a bordering fence and saw a 3-year-old tot lying face down in a swimming pool.

She saved the young boy's life and was named ABC Athlete of the Week and Sporting News Athlete of the Year.

She annually presents the Mary Bea Porter Humanitarian Award, originated by the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association to honor a heroic or humanitarian act that enhances human life.

The Nahale family will accept the long-deserved award honoring one of the state's finest amateur golfers, who died in 1971 at the age of 66.

It took more than 20 years before Nahale finally won the historic Manoa Cup at the age of 51 in 1955 by beating Charley Makaiwa, 5 and 3.

Nahale, who had lost in the 1934 Manoa Cup finals to the legendary Francis Brown, liked it so much that he hung on to the trophy in 1956, rallying from four holes down to beat Owen Douglass Jr., 1 up, in 37 holes.

Nahale's first victory also started a tradition that continues today at the O'ahu Country Club — he was the first winner to be thrown in the swimming pool in the post-tournament celebration of Hawai'i's oldest golf tournament, one dating back to 1907.

"My father was the first Manoa Cup champion to get thrown in the pool. He was proud of that. We all played golf because of him," said Donald Nahale, 73, about his three deceased brothers — George Jr., Fred and Gordon.

The Nahale family remains active in the junior golf program. Donald's son, Jeff, is a director for the O'ahu Junior Golf Association.

An all-star end on the 1926 championship Kamehameha football team, Nahale quickly developed his golfing skills as a member of the Palolo Golf Club at the old Palolo municipal links.

One of the top local amateurs, the cigar-chomping Nahale represented Hawai'i in two national public links tournaments — in Miami in 1952 and Hershey, Pa., in 1957, where Hawai'i won its first Harding Cup team championship with Nahale, Jack Chun and Ed Nakagaki.

Perhaps Nahale's most memorable victory, other than his two Manoa Cup titles, came in 1955 when he teamed with Ted Makalena to win the Brown Four-Ball Championship, then one of the major amateur events.

Nahale was a familiar figure at the Ala Wai Golf Course, not only because of his golfing ability, but because his wife, Irma, worked there as a starter for more than 30 years.

He would drive his wife to work and take her home every day, "an unforgettable ritual that captured the hearts of the Ala Wai boys," wrote local golf historian Bill Gee.

Bill Kwon can be reached at bkwon@aloha.net.