Chun claims Jennie K. crown
By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer
LANIKAI — It was beginning to look a lot like Christmas with all the gift giving going on in yesterday's 55th annual Jennie K. Wilson Invitational.
Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser
Turns out it was a birthday.
Mari Chun beat Ayaka Kaneko on the second playoff hole at Mid-Pacific Country Club.
"Happy Birthday, Mom," Mari Chun told her mother, Lani, somewhat sheepishly after winning the first Hawai'i women's golf major of the year at blustery Mid-Pacific Country Club.
Chun and her parents aged much more than a year yesterday. The Kamehameha Schools senior gave up a seven-shot lead to Sacred Hearts eighth-grader Ayaka Kaneko in the final round.
Kaneko, aging very gracefully with a remarkably poised round of 1-over-par 73, grabbed Chun's gift with glee. Kaneko eagled the 16th hole — easily — to take a one-shot lead. She clung to it with a 12-foot par putt on the next hole, then reciprocated with a gift of her own, three-putting the final hole to force a playoff at 3-over 219.
Both parred the first playoff hole but only Chun parred the second to give her mother a priceless, if rather bizarre, birthday gift.
"This means so much," said Chun, who made the state match play her first major championship last year. "I've always wanted to win this tournament. This golf course and all the people who have played Jennie K. ... because of all the tradition. I've met so many great ladies and they're all very friendly. It's such a great experience, totally. It's what golf is all about."
Chun opened with a brilliant 5-under 67 Friday and followed it up with 72 Saturday, leaving her one sub-par round from breaking Amanda Wilson's year-old tournament record of 5-under 211.
Kaneko, whose parents are members at Mid-Pacific, Waialae and Honolulu country clubs, moved here from Japan three years ago. She cut two shots off her deficit with a second-round 70, while no one else was within single digits of Chun.
Kaneko
By the turn yesterday, Kaneko had cut the gap to two and everyone else was playing for third. Chun's 41 on the front nine began and ended with double bogey.
"It was the most struggling I've ever had to do. It was a scrambling game for me the whole entire way," said Chun, who will play for Stanford in the fall. "Just nothing seemed to go my way today."
She three-putted three times. "I was just tapping the ball," Chun shrugged, "and it was flying."
Chun bogeyed the par-5 12th to see her lead slide to one. She thought she got a grip on her birdie-free day when she one-putted from 10 feet to save par on the 15th, while Kaneko bogeyed. But on the par-5 16th, Chun's chip slid past the hole and kept on sliding off the green.
Chun bogeyed and Kaneko, whose second shot was an iron to within four feet of the hole, eagled to seize the lead.
"Ayaka's putting was awesome today," Chun said. "She was draining everything."
Until the end.
Both hit the par-4 18th in regulation, with Chun 10 feet below the hole and Kaneko 10 feet above. Chun missed the birdie putt and tapped in for 80. Kaneko's birdie putt slid down the slick green and finally stopped four feet below the hole. Her putt for the win lipped out.
"My hands were shaking and I hit the first one too hard," said Kaneko, disappointment showing through her braces. "I missed the line coming back. I was supposed to make it and win the tournament."
Kaneko kept her head up for the playoff but could no longer keep up with Chun. "There was a big sigh from me on the 18th green," Chun said.
Kaneko hit her short approach shot "fat" on the second playoff hole. It rolled through the green and she chipped back 15 feet short of the hole. Chun was 7 feet beyond that on the same line. She left her par putt a foot right. After Kaneko missed, Chun drained the little one to start the birthday celebration, finally.
Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.
Championship Flight
Mari Chun* 67-72-80—219
Ayaka Kaneko 76-70-73—219
Amanda Wilson 77-75-75—227
Jung Sook Bae 81-77-83—241
Kyung Kim 78-78-86—242
Marcie Rudich 77-83-84—244
Kuulei Kaae 83-79-83—245
Mona Kim 81-85-84—250
Kristina Merkle 85-87-86—258
*—won on second playoff hole
A Flight
Yun Manin 82-78-80—240
Keiki-Dawn Izumi 78-85-81—244
Mia Hew 82-86-80—248
Cyd Okino 85-77-89—251
Sibylle Brinkman 86-82-85—253
Fumie Inamura 82-87-87—256
Keiko Nakano 80-87-90—257
Emi Park 86-87-86—259
Vivian Sasaki 88-85-86—259
Sanae Vierra 79-91-92—262
B Flight
Lisa Okazaki 86-88-84—258
Hisako Obara 80-91-88—259
Cheryl Grimm 85-84-91—260
Devi Sunahara 84-87-91—262
Mimi Fukushima 89-85-88—262
Dee Budzinsky 91-85-88—265
Stacie DeLaney 87-87-91—265
Lily Yao 86-87-91—267
Lorna Nishihara 88-88-92—268
C Flight
Biac Frame 86-87-88—261
Trish Bybee 85-91-90—266
Maureen Sapienza 87-82-97—266
Judith Jackola 85-89-93—267
Jandee Kim 87-89-92—268
Terri Lui 89-90-91—270
Verna Maynard 91-91-91—273
D Flight
Lynne Chow 90-90-94—274
Cathy Kobayashi 88-95-91—274
Linette Tam 87-94-96—277
Yoshiko Kutsunai 94-93-91—278
Hideko Yamada 89-89-100—278
Diane Plotts 92-92-98—282
E Flight
Judy Kay Wilks 93-101-100—294
Angie Navin 96-104-95—295
Johanna Kaai 91-100-109—300
Maddie Lum 99-104-101—304
Patt Severson 99-101-106—306
