Posted on: Sunday, June 20, 2004
Kokx goes for third match play title in row
Advertiser Staff
Kihei Elementary school teacher Bobbi Kokx goes for her third consecutive Hawai'i State Women's Golf Association Match Play Championship beginning tomorrow at Oahu Country Club.
Former University of Hawai'i golfer Bobbie Arakawa, who lost to Chun in the semifinals last year, is also playing, as is 2001 finalist Desiree Ting.
The only other former champion in the field is Keiki-Dawn Izumi, who captured the 1991 title over Camie Hoshino.
Tomorrow's qualifying round begins at 8 a.m. Tuesday's first-round matches start at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday's quarterfinals and Thursday's semifinals tee off at 8 a.m., and Friday's final starts at 7 a.m.
Only seven golfers have won more than two match play titles since the tournament started in 1924, as the Hawaiian Women's Amateur. Ramona Petrie McGuire won a record five match play championships between 1940 and 1957.
Nine of Hawai'i's best amateurs are playing in the U.S. Women's Public Links beginning Tuesday in Virginia. That group includes Michelle Wie, who is defending her national publinx title; Jennie K. champion Amanda Wilson; and Stephanie Kono, who completed the Hawai'i women's career grand slam (Jennie K., Match Play and Stroke Play) last year at the age of 13.
Kokx defeated Mari Chun in last year's final to become the first golfer to defend the match play title in nearly 20 years. Chun, who will be a Kamehameha Schools senior in the fall, is in the field again.
