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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, July 5, 2006

Oride, Ching win junior golf

Advertiser Staff

Kelli Oride

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Alex Ching

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Jaclyn Hilea

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Robert Greenleaf

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Lihu'e's Kelli Oride and Honolulu's Alex Ching won King Auto Group Hawai'i State Junior Championships on the final hole yesterday.

The 13- to 18-year-olds played at The Club at Hokuli'a on the Big Island. The younger golfers had their championships on O'ahu last week.

Oride, 12, won the 13-14 girls division by nine shots, closing with a 79 for a two-day total of 8-over-par 152. Kane'ohe's Jaclyn Hilea (77-75) shot the same score to win the 15-18 division and force a playoff for the overall girls title.

Oride won that with a one-putt par from five feet on the fourth playoff hole.

Ching's victory was just as dramatic. He led the boys after firing a 2-under 70 Monday. A birdie at the 16th yesterday gave him a two-shot advantage over Waikoloa's Henry Park.

That was cut in half when Ching — a 2006 state high school tennis champion — bogeyed the next hole. Park's approach shot from some 90 yards out on the final hole (365-yard par-4 18th) rolled to five feet of the pin. Ching was up to the challenge, launching his 65-yard approach to a foot.

"Henry hit it perfect. It was a beautiful shot right at the pin," Ching recalled. "The hole is elevated so we couldn't see how close it was, but everybody up there was clapping. I figured he must be close. ... I just went for it."

Both birdied the hole to give Ching a one-shot victory. Makawao's Robert Greenleaf (76-74) won the 13-14 boys division by four over Kapolei's Tommy Yamashita and Wahiawa's Zakry Akagi-Bustin.

Hilea, who played on Moanalua's state high school championship team in May, won her age division by four shots. Kahului's Elyse Okada was second. Kaitlen Miyajima, Kelcie Kawano and Miki Ueoka shared third at 158.

Okada and Ueoka shot the final day's low round for the girls with 74s. Oride, who attends Kamakahelei Middle School, opened with a 73 Monday, sinking five birdie putts.

The girls played Hokuli'a at 6,124 yards. The older boys played from the blue tees at 6,921 yards and the younger boys played between the two.

Oride and Ching leave Friday for a month of Mainland golf, starting with Junior World Championships in San Diego and the invitation-only Toyota Tour Cup Series at Santa Ana (Calif.) Country Club.

Last week, Hawai'i teenagers Michelle Wie, Kimberly Kim, Ayaka Kaneko and Stephanie Kono played at the U.S. Women's Open. Before that, 15-year-old Tadd Fujikawa became the youngest ever in the U.S. Open.

Kaneko and Fujikawa won this tournament last year. The onslaught of Hawai'i teenagers in the country's most prestigious golf tournaments made an indelible impression.

"I was cheering for my friend Kimberly Kim," Oride said. "It was so cool. She's from Hawai'i. It was like, 'Wow, I could be there too someday.' "

"It's amazing how Hawai'i is producing so many good golfers," Ching added. "They're taking the game to higher and better levels ... and we all started here."

Sunday's Mixed Plate tournament at Hokuli'a raised more than $35,000 for the HSJGA.