GOLF BRIEFS
Wilson, Kelly will take part in clinic
Advertiser Staff
Kane'ohe's Dean Wilson and Jerry Kelly, the 2002 Sony Open in Hawai'i champion, will participate in the Kraft Foods Junior Clinic Sunday on the first tee at Waialae Country Club.
The free clinic starts at 4 p.m. It is geared toward kids, but all golfers are welcome.
The Kraft clinic and this weekend's Sunset on the Beach at Waikiki begin Sony Open Week on O'ahu. "Daddy Day Care" and "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" will be shown Saturday and Sunday.
The week continues Monday with the Sony Dream Cup Pro-Am and First Hawaiian Bank Pro-Junior Challenge Tuesday. Pros also play practice rounds both days. There is no admission charge.
Shigeki Maruyama and former Hawai'i Pearl Open champion Hidemichi Tanaka lead the list of Japanese stars who will play Sony.
Maruyama has won a dozen tournaments since turning pro in 1992, including last year's Chrysler Classic. He moved from the Japan tour to the PGA Tour in 2001 and has won $6.5 million since. He finished seventh last year at Waialae.
Tanaka won more than $1 million on the PGA Tour last year, finishing 69th on the money list.
Tetsuji Hiratsuka, who was No. 2 on the Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO) money list last year, will also play the Sony on an exemption, as will Todd Hamilton, who was third. They will be joined by rookie Yusaku Miyazato, Hirofumi Miyase, Kenichi Kuboya and Hideto Tanihara, who won the JGTO's 2004 opener.
'Aiea's David Ishii, the 1990 Hawaiian Open champion and a JGTO member, qualified for Sony.
PGA Tour members Scott Simpson, a former Hawai'i resident and U.S. Open champion, and Olin Browne also received exempt spots.
In other Sony news, there will be three free parking locations this year — at Hunakai Park, Fort Ruger (Triangle) Park at the corner of Kahala Avenue and Diamond Head Road, and the lot across from Kapiolani Community College on Diamond Head Road.
Free shuttles will take spectators to the intersection of Kahala and Kealaolu avenues, near the tournament entrance.
Residents and visitors can take the free Waikiki Trolley to Waialae. The trolley can be picked up at Hilton Hawaiian Village (Tapa Tower Parking Lot), Outrigger Islander Hotel, Duke's Statue, Waikiki Beach (across from zoo) and the Waikiki Aquarium.
Shuttles depart every 20 minutes beginning at 7 a.m. Service ends at 7 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday, 8 p.m. on Jan. 14-16 and at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 17-18.
Pro-junior pairings set
The pairings for the First Hawaiian Bank's Pro-Junior Golf Challenge at Waialae Golf Course are set.
The competition, which matches six PGA Tour professionals with six Hawai'i juniors, is part of the Sony Open in Hawai'i.
It will be held Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. at the 10th tee. There is no admission charge.
The pairings are: Paul Azinger-Michelle Wie; Jerry Kelly-Kellen Watabu; Tom Lehman-Mari Chun; Chris Riley-Allan Baab; Vijay Singh-Stephanie Kono; and Jeff Sluman-Travis Toyama.
Sony pro-am caddies sought
Anyone interested in caddying for next week's Sony Open in Hawai'i pro-am contestants can telephone John Ramelb, the Waialae Country Club head golf professional at 732-1457.
A caddy meeting will be held Saturday at 2 p.m. at the golf course.
OJGA 2004 ability tests set
Girls and boys ages 7 to 17 who want to become members of the O'ahu Junior Golf Association must attend playing ability tests before the 2004 season starts.
To reserve a spot at the tests, or for information, call 626-2950 (ages 7 to 12), 626-7807 (ages 13 to 17) or contact the OJGA voicemail center at 952-OJGA.
Funk, Turtle Bay on Golf Hawai'i
The second season of "Golf Hawai'i" premiers Tuesday on the Golf Channel at 1:30 p.m. (HST) and again at 8:30 p.m.
Host Mark Rolfing interviews PGA Tour pro Fred Funk, who will explain the routine he uses to produce accurate drives.
Funk has led the driving accuracy category on the PGA Tour in four of the past five years.
Other segments of the 30-minute program include a "Hawaii Focus" on Turtle Bay Resort, a tip on playing from the right set of tees, and a special segment featuring Rolfing's take on the race for the PGA Tour Player of the year in 2003, which was won by Tiger Woods.
