Saladin wins Hawai'i State Open by 5 strokes
By Bill Kwon
Special to The Advertiser
'EWA BEACH — Chad Saladin became the third consecutive out-of-state golfer to win the Hawai'i State Open but the Arizona professional said he thinks there should be an asterisk by his name.
Andrew Shimabuku • The Honolulu Advertiser
Saladin, who shot a bogey-free 69 yesterday for a 54-hole score of 207 and a five-stroke victory worth $6,000, was stationed for four years at Schofield Barracks and thinks he's "local" enough.
Chad Saladin shot a bogey-free 69 yesterday en route to a five-stroke victory in the Hawai'i State Open at the Hawai'i Prince Golf Club. Saladin, who lives in Arizona, was once stationed at Schofield Barracks.
"I'm not a resident but I feel like I got a lot of support here," said Saladin, who returned specifically to play in the state open sponsored by the Prince Resorts. And because it's a good "warm-up" for next month's Arizona Gateway Tour Championship, for which he qualified by being one of its top 50 money winners.
Saladin is no stranger to local golf, having tied for sixth in this year's Hawai'i Pearl Open before leaving military service. He also had a top-10 finish in the 2003 Mililani Rainbow Open.
Based on his showing during the weekend, Saladin, who turns 30 next week, has definitely stepped up his game since then.
Length proved the key for the 6-foot-2 Saladin, who recorded 10 of his birdies at the Hawai'i Prince Golf Club's par-5 holes, including the 567-yard third on the "B" course all three days.
But he didn't just wield a big stick. He saved par after par with his putter.
"I made three or four really nice putts from six, seven feet for pars, making it nice that I had no bogeys," said Saladin. "And I had a good two-putt par from 45 feet at the last hole."
Not that he needed it, going into 18 with a seven-stroke lead over playing partners, David Ishii and amateur Matt Kodama.
"He was in cruise control and I didn't put up much of a fight. He had it easy," said Kodama, a University of Hawai'i senior, who eagled the closing hole with an eight-foot putt after getting close reaching with a 3-wood from 255 yards out.
That enabled Kodama to finish with a 71 and 212 total and handily earn low-amateur honors.
Ishii was also impressed by Saladin's all-around game: "He's a good putter. He made a lot of saves. And he played steady."
Ishii, on the other hand, had a rollercoaster round, giving away two of his four birdies on the front nine with three-putt bogeys at the first and eighth holes as he and Saladin matched 2-under 34s at the turn.
Ishii had it to 4-under for the tournament and trailed by only four strokes with his fifth birdie of the round at 11. But he pulled a 6-iron from the tee into the water for a double-bogey 5 on the next hole.
Ishii, who leaves tonight to play in the Casio Open and the final stage of the Japan tour qualifying school, nearly eagled 14, settling for a tap-in birdie. But he bogeyed 16 and 18 to finish at 215, second best among the pros.
Shane Hoshino earned a three-way tie at 218 with Kevin Burton and Joe Phengsavath after shooting a 3-under 69.
Lisa Chang, a 25-year-old Los Angeles resident who was 40th on the Futures Tour money list this year, shot a final-round 72 to capture the women's division by nine strokes with a 54-hole score of 217.
Larry Stubblefield prevented an out-of-state sweep by taking the senior division with a 76-219, beating Mike Iyoki by three strokes.
