Kodama takes amateur golf title

By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer

'AIEA — After grinding through 72 holes in weather that went from the sublime to the ridiculous, the difference in the 2004 Hawai'i State Amateur Stroke Play Championship was a millimeter between 'Bows Brothers.

Matt Kodama drained a 20-foot putt on the final hole to win the Hawai'i State Amateur Stroke Play Championship. Advertiser library photo • July 31, 2003

"I thought it was in the heart," Beston said.

Kodama, who led after the first two rounds, won by a shot. The country's 49th-ranked collegiate golfer closed with a 2-over-par 74 for a four-day total of 1-under 287. Beston's 70, with four front-nine birdies, was the only sub-par round in 20- to 30-mph winds yesterday.

Del-Marc Fujita, the only Hawai'i-born player in the final group, went into the last day with a three-shot advantage. He came out third after shooting 80, despite a following clearly partial to one of the state's finest, and most amiable, amateurs.

"I let myself down most of all," said Fujita, who fired a tournament-best 67 in Saturday's wet and wild conditions. "Yesterday I did everything right. It's hard to follow that up. I thought I could. I was playing well all week. I really thought I would play well today."

Fujita, 37, grew up on Kaua'i and graduated from USC. He owns Hawai'i's Bridgestone golf distributorship and is one of the sport's most avid supporters. Ultimately yesterday, he had to bow to the 'Bows, who are in the midst of their season.

Kodama and Beston caught and passed Fujita when he double-bogeyed the 12th hole. Beston bogeyed the 13th to drop a shot back. Both 'Bows bogeyed the 15th while Fujita sank a clutch par putt to cut his deficit to one.

Fujita gambled on a long birdie putt at the 16th and ended up with his fifth three-putt. That left the tournament to the 'Bows Brothers, who came to Manoa via Spokane and Las Vegas (Kodama) and Sydney, Australia (Beston).

They put on a show the final two holes.

Both blasted huge drives on the par-5 17th (519 yards). Both dumped easy approach shots into the bunker. Beston blasted out to 12 feet of the hole and sank the birdie. Kodama nearly holed his bunker shot, then missed from 18 inches to fall back into a tie for first.

"I don't know what happened, my stroke was all right," said Kodama, who won the Nevada State Amateur last year. "The ball bounced left as soon as I hit it. As soon as it jumped off line, there was no chance of it going in."

By the time he reached the final green, that miss was history. He stroked in what proved to be the winning putt, raised his fist and grinned at Beston.

"I told him to make it so I had something to work for," said Beston, who still had his downhill, left-to-right slider to come. "I knew I was going to have to make that one."

Beston thought he had. Instead he had to settle for his best finish of the year.

"I'm glad to get beat by Matt," Beston said. "He's a very good player, one of the top 50 in the country. I'm not disappointed."

Beston and Fujita both pointed to Kodama's conservative approach yesterday as the key to success. Kodama played it safe on four downwind holes by teeing off with an iron.

"He has a lot of length and he's smart enough to use it the right way," Fujita said. "He had very good discipline today."

Jonathan Mathias (72—292) took fourth. Mathias, a perennial challenger in all-services events, won last year's Turtle Bay Amateur. Hironobu Kim (72) and UH freshman Pierre-Henri Soero (74) tied for fifth, another shot back. Former Rainbow baseball player Gregg Omori (72—294) was seventh.

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8043.