AROUND THE GREENS
'People's Open' to start in Hawai'i

By Bill Kwon

"It's a big chance for us. If we blow it this year, we'll never get another chance," says Kaua'i's Mary Bea Porter-King, who was instrumental in bringing U.S. Open sectional qualifying to the Islands. Mary Bea Porter-King photo U.S. Open Qualifying 18-hole local qualifying May 15—Ka'anapali North Golf Course May 18—Po'ipu Bay Golf Course May 20—Palmer Course, Turtle Bay Resort 36-hole sectional qualifying June 7—Palmer Course, Turtle Bay resort Top finisher(s) will advance to the 2004 U.S. Open Championship at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., June 17-20 Deadline: April 23 Entry fee: $125 Requirements: Professional and amateur golfers with USGA handicap index not exceeding 1.4 Information: Hawai'i State Golf Association, phone 589-2909; or USGA (908) 234-2300

"Wonderful. Unreal. I'm playing," said Rego, who runs the pro shop at the 'Ewa Villages Golf Course with his older brother, Art Rego Jr. "I don't know how we got it, but it's good for the local golfers."

The qualifier will be in June at the Turtle Bay Resort's Palmer Course.

Mary Bea Porter-King, the driving force in convincing the organization to give Hawai'i the opportunity of hosting a sectional qualifying, hopes Rego will be among at least 225 golfers feeling the same way.

"They think I'm nuts. We only had 15 players in the past because nobody could afford to take that second step, going to the Mainland to qualify in a sectional," said Porter-King, who's in her fourth year as a member of the USGA executive committee.

She feels that's the "magic number" of players needed to enter the three 18-hole local qualifyings at Ka'anapali, Po'ipu Bay and Turtle Bay prior to the 36-hole sectional.

"I stuck my neck out on this one," said Porter-King, a former LPGA pro now residing in Kaua'i. "It's a big chance for us. If we blow it this year, we'll never get another chance."

Larry Stubblefield, another of only 11 golfers from Hawai'i ever to play in the U.S. Open, marveled that Porter-King could swing the deal of having Hawai'i as one of the 13 sectional qualifying sites nationally.

"It's all due to Mary Bea," said Stubblefield, who played in the 1972 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach before being the co-medalist with John Adams at the PGA Tour Qualifying School that fall.

"It is so difficult to qualify for the U.S. Open; a very tough tournament to get into," Stubblefield said. "But this is the best chance for anyone from Hawai'i to qualify. It's a wonderful opportunity, even if the odds are difficult."

In previous years, after winning the local qualifying — and there was only one — the medalist had to go to the Mainland for the sectional qualifying.

Just ask Stubblefield how tough that is. Other than surviving a five-way playoff for four spots in Atlanta to play at Pebble Beach, he didn't qualify in five other sectional attempts.

This year, however, the top sectional finishers at Turtle Bay — the number of spots will be based on the number of entries — will head directly to the 2004 U.S. Open at the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., June 17-20.

"That's terrific for Hawai'i golfers. It gives them their best chance," said David Ishii, who played in the 1988 U.S. Open at Brookline, Mass.

Porter-King, however, not only wants the word to get out to local golfers, but also to those from the rest of the Pacific region, including Japan, South Korea and Australia. She even thinks many golfers from the West Coast will try to qualify here, combining it with a vacation.

"We're trying to establish Hawai'i as a place to qualify, where your golfers don't have to travel to the Mainland to qualify," said Ron Read, a USGA official. "But there's a bigger issue involved. We want to try to do it for other USGA events, such as the U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur."

Hosting a U.S. Open sectional is one of the biggest golf stories locally, said Mark Rolfing, NBC-TV golf analyst and a former Hawai'i Tourism Authority member involved in promoting the sport.

"I think it's enormous for Hawai'i. The more we brand our state as a golf destination, the better," he said. "And it gives our players a chance to showcase their talent."

Still, the odds are against a golfer when it comes to the U.S. Open.

More than 7,000 golfers annually try for some 90 qualifying spots available, because the rest making up the 156-man field are exempt under various categories: previous major champions (10 years for the U.S. Open, five for the British Open Masters and PGA Championship), top 10 current PGA money leaders, 30 from the previous year, top 15 from the European Tour, top 30 in world rankings, etc.

That still leaves a lot of talented PGA and Nationwide tour pros trying to qualify. Two of the bigger sectionals on June 7 — in Columbus, Ohio, and Rockville, Md., — are geared for the players on those two tours.

Not many sectional spots are available, but the chances for Hawai'i golfers are better now, according to Rolfing.

"Our players will have a home-course advantage. They don't have to go away and play unfamiliar courses. There's no way to get there in time to practice three or four days," he said.

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