GOLF BRIEFS
Ex-champs dot Hall of Fame tourney field
Advertiser Staff
Former winners Ron Castillo Jr., Kevin Hayashi, Brendan Moynahan and Dave Pritchett are entered in the 17th annual Verizon Hawai'i Hall of Fame Championship, Sunday and Monday at Kapalua Plantation Course.
Kevin Carll won last year with a 36-hole score of 141. He is skipping the event for family reasons. His wife, Suzanne, recently gave birth to their second child, Brodie.
The 46-player field made up of Aloha Section PGA professionals will play for $21,000. A Pro-Am is scheduled for Saturday at 9 a.m.
Starting times for the first and second rounds begin at 6:50 a.m.
U.S. Open entry deadline extended
Deadline for accepting entries for the U.S. Open has been extended 24 hours, until 11 a.m. today, due to technical problems with the online process. This is the first year sectional qualifying will be held in Hawai'i.
Local qualifiers will be on Maui (May 15, Ka'anapali), Kaua'i (May 18, Po'ipu Bay) and O'ahu (May 20, Turtle Bay Palmer Course). Top players advance to the 36-hole sectional, June 7 at the Palmer Course.
Top finishers there advance to the 2004 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, in Southampton, N.Y., June 17-20.
Professionals and amateurs with a USGA handicap index of 1.4 or less are eligible to enter. Entry fee is $125. You can enter online at usga.org.
Odelius to play at NCAA regional
Rainbow Wahine freshman Sara Odelius was selected to compete in the NCAA Championship West Regional, next Thursday through Saturday at Stanford, Calif.
Hawai'i was not one of 21 teams that qualified for the regional. Odelius is one of three golfers chosen from non-qualifying squads.
Eight teams and two individuals advance from each regional to the final, May 18 through 21 at Auburn, Ala.
"I'm very proud of Sara advancing to the regionals and being named first-team all-conference," UH interim coach Ashley Adleta said. "She's been playing really well lately and hopefully she has a great showing at the NCAAs."
Odelius, from Sweden, led UH with a 75.5 stroke average during the regular season. She was the Rainbows' top finisher in eight of 10 tournaments and finished in the top 10 six times.
Ko'olau discounts green fees in May
Ko'olau Golf Club will have $18 green fees after 3 p.m. all next month for players with local ID, in its May Afternoon Madness promotion.
The club is also offering Internet specials for visitors and Hawai'i residents at koolaugolfclub.com. Golfers from the Mainland can get a $30 discount from May 4 to Dec. 4 using a coupon printed off the Web site. Another coupon is good for $10 off the kama'aina green fee through May 21, which does not include the twilight rate.
Women in Golf Day will be May 22. The annual event offers instruction and games, and raises funds for breast cancer research.
Kokx wins Maui women's event
Kihei elementary school teacher Bobbi Kokx won the Maui Women's Championship April 18.
Kokx shot 76 at Pukalani Country Club in the first round and closed with a 74 at Maui Country Club. Her 150 total was six shots better than Mia Hew, who won the Championship Flight with 156.
Other flight winners were Jae Thompson (A-168), Roselle Armitage (B-177), Jo-Ann Kihano (C-194) and Diana Murdoch (D-195).
Medeiros wins Amatour event
Earl Medeiros defeated Kramer Aoki in a playoff to win Amatour Hawai'i's Coral Creek Classic Sunday.
The first playoff in Amatour history came in the opening event of its third season.
Aoki and Medeiros both shot 71-73 to finish at even-par 144, a shot ahead of Ryan Perez, who shot the final day's only sub-par score (71). Paul Kimura (75) and Jonathan Mathias (74) tied for fourth at 147.
Medeiros also won medalist honors at the tour's qualifying tournament last month.
SHORT PUTTS: 808Golf TV will broadcast the conclusion of its Ko Olina Golf Club Iron Golfer Challenge, featuring Parker McLachlin and Michelle Wie, tomorrow. It is scheduled to start at 10 p.m. on OC16. ... Waikoloa Beach and Golf Resort will hold a Demo Day on May 8 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Kings' Course practice range. The event will showcase Titleist, MacGregor and Adams. There will also be specials, club fitting, professional golf advisers and prizes. Admission is free.
