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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, November 2, 2006

GOLF REPORT
Amatour wraps up with tour championship

 •  Youths raise amateurs' Governor's Cup hopes

Advertiser Staff

2006 Hawai'i golf calendar
See a listing of all Hawai'i golf events this year.

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Amatour Hawai'i will play its Tour Championship this weekend at Mililani Golf Club. Michael Jay Sato leads the Player of the Year points list, but with the value doubled this weekend, Shannon Tanoue and Craig Uyehara still have a chance of catching up.

Those three will be paired with Steve Ohira in Saturday's opening round, based on their point totals. The final event will also determine the tour's top 24 players, who will be exempt from qualifying next year.

Players go off at approximately noon each day. State high school champion Chan Kim is in the field, along with Alvin Okada, Blaine Kimura and Ted Murata Jr.

SENIOR AMATEUR SET

William Enomoto and Bev Kim will defend their titles at the fourth annual State Senior Amateur Championships this weekend at Kane'ohe Klipper. The field of 103 includes golfers between the ages of 50 and 84.

Flights are grouped by age. Willie Perreira, 84, and Betty Roth, 81, are again the oldest.

Last year Enomoto, now 61, sank a 4-foot par putt on the last hole to hold off Gary Haynie. The winning total was 7-over-par 151. Kim, 60, parred the fourth extra hole to beat Jade Merkle, who was in her rookie senior year at age 50.

PRO-SCRATCH AT PEARL

The sixth annual Bridgestone Sports Pro-Scratch Championship is Monday and Tuesday at Pearl Country Club. The two-man team event — one pro and one amateur — tees off at 11:30 a.m. for the first round and 6:50 a.m. for the second.

Mauna Kea pro Kevin Hayashi and amateur partner Elton Tanaka have won two of the past three titles. The field is limited to 40 teams and has a purse of $10,000.

Participating teams include the defending champions, brothers Norman-Ganin and Kellen-Floyd Asao, Turtle Bay pro Kellan Anderson and former state high school champion Troy Higashiyama, cousins Regan Lee and Brandan Kop, Casey Nakama and tournament sponsor Del-Marc Fujita, Mililani's Joey Tadeo and Moanalua sophomore Tadd Fujikawa, who just won the OCC Invitational, and Hilo Muni's Lance Taketa with Manoa Cup champion Jonathan Ota.

$5,000 FOR FOUNDATION

More than $5,000 was raised for the Hawai'i State Women's Golf Foundation at last week's Waikoloa Women's Golf Challenge. Waikoloa Resort on the Big Island has raised more than $25,000 for the foundation since the tournament started in 2002.

Lily Yao and Bev Kim, members of the foundation's board of directors, won the Challenge with scores of 73-73—146. Denise Dafnos and Carrie Panico captured the net title (65-64—129) and Suzy Barchenger and Regina Farish won the scramble division (89-87—176).

The Challenge is hosted by Cindy Rarick, Waikoloa's LPGA touring pro. The foundation was started to help golfers with travel stipends to USGA events, scholarships, rules workshops and clinics. Vying for Champions

Mark Morrison, of Kailua, Kona, and Stan Souza, of Ho-nolulu, are tied for 39th at 155 in the Champions Tour Q-school regional qualifier at Beaumont, Calif. Kapolei's Faitala Sofa (163) is 59th in the 64-player field that will compete through tomorrow. Pat Laverty leads with 70—140.

The top finishers at the California qualifier and the other three qualifiers advance to national finals, Nov. 15 to 18 at TPC Eagle Trace in Coral Springs, Fla. The top 30 players and ties there will be eligible to compete in weekly professional qualifiers held in conjunction with full-field Champions Tour events.

The top nine at each Champions Tour qualifier get into the field. Q-school participants will be joined in qualifiers by former PGA Tour and Champions Tour players who meet pre-determined criteria, such as Hawai'i's David Ishii, who won the 1990 Hawaiian Open.

The national final has a $200,000 purse, which will be distributed among the top 30 finishers. Entry fee is $2,500.