Updated at 2:59 p.m., Saturday, December 30, 2006
Kono edges Kim to win Arizona golf tournament
Advertiser Staff
Punahou School junior Stephanie Kono, 17, shot an even-par 72 today to win the Joanne Winter Arizona Silver Belle Championship at Karsten Golf Club in Tempe, Ariz.Kono, who shared the lead with former Hawai'i resident Kimberly Kim, 15, after two rounds, had two birdies and two bogeys on the 6,153-yard course. She beat Kim and Shiu Yin Liu of Tualatin, Ore., by two shots in the tournament for females between the ages of 13 and 23.
Kono and Kim were tied after 13 holes, but Kim bogeyed three consecutive holes to give Kono the advantage. Both golfers birdied the 495-yard, par-5 17th hole and parred the 368-yard, par-4 18th.
Kim, a former Pahoa, Hawai'i, resident who now lives in Arizona, bogeyed her first three holes but rallied with birdies on the fifth, seventh and eighth holes. She finished with four birdies and six bogeys.
Other Hawai'i golfers in the 112-player field were Pahoa's Christine Kim (T15, 76--225), Pearl City's Mari Chun (T19, 74--226), Kahului's Elyse Okada (T27, 78--228), Wailuku's Kelly Nakashima (T27, 74-228), Honolulu's Kristina Merkle (T45, 74--233) and Honolulu's Katie Sisler (T100, 82--253).
