Posted on: Thursday, June 16, 2005
GOLF BRIEFS
Pro events raise $1M for Hawai'i charities
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Advertiser Staff
A record $1 million raised through professional Hawai'i golf events will be distributed to more than 100 non-profit organizations by the Friends of Hawaii Charities, it was announced yesterday.
The majority of the money was raised through the PGA Tour's Sony Open in Hawai'i in a charity partnership with The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation Inc. Other professional events raising money were the Champions Tour's Turtle Bay Championship and the LPGA's SBS Open at Turtle Bay.
"We've come a long way since our first charity distribution in 1999 of $256,000," Friends of Hawaii Charities president Anthony R. Guerrero Jr. said in a prepared statement. He also credited 1,500 volunteers and 140 sponsors of the Sony Open, "Hawai'i's largest sports fundraising event."
Friends of Hawaii Charities provides money for projects directed toward youth, women and the needy.
For information on the Friends of Hawaii Charities' Friends Club, call 523-7888 or go to www.friendsofhawaii.org.
Lots changed in Golf Digest's biennial survey of America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses, but Princeville's Prince Course remains the highest-ranked layout in Hawai'i.
Princeville is the only Hawai'i course among the 100 Greatest overall, at No. 63 in the May issue. It is No. 12 in the companion list of 100 Greatest Public Courses.
The majority of the "Greatest" courses are private. Princeville is one of 15 courses that made both lists.
Mauna Kea, ranked third in the state after the private Kuki'o Golf and Beach Club, is 32nd on the list of best public courses. Challenge at Manele came up 60th, Kapalua Plantation 74th and Kaua'i Lagoons Kiele 90th.
Other Hawai'i courses that made the magazine's best in state list are, in order: Ko'olau, Makena South, Wailea Gold, Hualalai, Turtle Bay Palmer, Poipu Bay, Wailea Emerald, Princeville Makai and Mauna Lani North.
Both rankings are created by a national panel of more than 800. Members play and evaluate courses using seven main criteria: shot values, resistance to scoring, design variety, memorability, aesthetics, conditioning and ambience.
Pine Valley Golf Club in New Jersey remains No. 1 in the "Greatest" category, with Pebble Beach at the top of the public list — and No. 6 overall.
There are two new members to the Top 10 in 2005, the first time that has happened in 10 years. From 1997 through 2001, the members of the Top 10 didn't change at all.
The biggest change comes farther down the list, with 18 courses new to the list from two years ago, the largest turnover ever.
The reason for the drastic change is the magazine's decision to abandon the bonus "tradition" category in the ranking. "Ambience" — "How well does the overall feel and atmosphere of the course reflect or uphold the traditional values of the game?" — has replaced it.
The closing of the Kalakaua course and return of troops have caused the annual Army Invitational to change its schedule. The 2005 tournament will be Thursday to Saturday, Aug. 4 to 6, at Leilehua.
The field will be limited to 216 players, and flights will play morning and afternoon the first two days. The field will be cut in half, approximately, for Saturday morning's final round.
Applications are expected to be out by the end of this month.
Junior golf benefit: The third annual Mixed Plate golf tournament, a fundraiser for the Hawai'i State Junior Golf Association, is 10 a.m. Aug. 14 at the Club at Hokuli'a on the Big Island. Thirty of the state's top junior golfers will be teamed with an Aloha Section PGA professional or apprentice and two amateur partners. Last year's benefit raised more than $34,000. Entry fee is $500 per amateur, tax deductible. Deadline is July 30. For more information, call Sean Cullinan or Darren Sayre at (808) 930-4101. Waikoloa: The Waikoloa Beach Resorts' 11th annual Dolphin Days Golf Tournament is scheduled for June 25 at the Waikoloa Kings Course on the Big Island. More than 140 golfers are expected for the four-person scramble tournament. Celebrity players include Oakland Raiders offensive lineman Robert Gallery and several UH assistant football coaches, according to tournament organizers. Entry fee is $150 per player. Business sponsorship packages also are available. For details, call Ross Birch at (808) 886-5375. Kapalua: The 19th annual Kapalua Clambake Pro-Am Golf Tournament is scheduled for June 24 to 26 at Kapalua's Bay and Village courses. The tournament includes a 36-hole individual competition and a 54-hole team competition, using a variety of formats. The Clambake Feast and Silent Auction at the Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua, is on June 25. The tournament's beneficiaries include the Maui Special Olympics and Lahainaluna High School golf team. For details, call Marty Keiter at (808) 669-8802. Mid-Pacific: Mid-Pacific Country Club's "Operation Phone Home" charity golf tournament raised more than $30,000, according to club officials. The money was used for 3,000 phone cards for Hawai'i National Guard and U.S. Army Reservists serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. The club also donated 40 cases of local snacks for the Hawai'i troops.
Princeville on list
Army tourney moved
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