It could be the end of a golf era for Hawai'i when Jarett Hamamoto tees off with the Rainbows this morning in the 2006 Wells Fargo Western Athletic Conference Championship. The 54-hole tournament ends Wednesday at Crane Creek Country Club in Boise, Idaho.

Hamamoto has hammered out an impressive amateur career since sweeping the 2001 and 2002 state high school championships for Waiakea.

Currently, he has the unique honor of holding the "Big Island Slam," sandwiching his 2005 Hawai'i State Open championship at Mauna Kea with the Kona Open and Hilo Invitational titles. He beat pros out in all three, including a one-shot victory over cousin Kevin Hayashi at Hilo.

The WAC Championship could be his final amateur event.

"I was thinking, after the season, of turning pro and see what it's like," Hamamoto said. "As an amateur, you can only do so much."

Hamamoto has three rounds to prove how much more that could be. He and Canadian Jordan Belton are Hawai'i's only seniors and Hamamoto is the top returning player at this week's tournament, after finishing fourth last year.

That finish left him the only Rainbow in the Top 25. The WAC has not been kind to UH. Its last top-five finish came a decade ago.

This year, it would take a WAC title to push the 'Bows into the postseason. They have struggled this spring and Hamamoto has not been an exception.

After making a conscious effort to get past "the grind" of college golf his final year, he is enjoying this season more but scoring well less after slipping into a spring "slump."

Hamamoto hopes it is just the way the goofy game goes, but is already eagerly anticipating a steady diet of pro events where every putt does not have "ramifications" for every teammate.

"If you have a bad round in college, you have to hold it together because a teammate might have a worse round," Hamamoto said. "It's not as enjoyable as regular tournaments, except for the camaraderie."

That is part of why he came "home" to Manoa after two years at the Air Force Academy. Golf was good there — Hamamoto was 20th at the 2004 Mountain West Tournament — but his social life suffered. When Hamamoto got to the point where he could opt out, he jumped and has had no regrets.

"This isn't the total opposite of the academy, but it is a different lifestyle," Hamamoto said. "UH is fun. You have to concentrate a lot harder to get your studying done. There are a lot of distractions here. But it's not impossible. You have to focus more, get your work done and then go have your fun."

The shyness that surrounded Hamamoto in high school disappeared in the high altitude of Air Force. The physical training also helped fill out a 5-foot-7 frame and had a dramatic impact on his distance, according to Hayashi, the Aloha Section PGA Player of the Year and Hamamoto's mentor.

"The biggest difference in his game now is he can overpower some courses, and mentally he's gotten a lot stronger," Hayashi said. "His ball-striking is much better now. Tee to green, he's really strong. If he gets his putter going, he'll be all right."

UH coach Ronn Miyashiro has no complaints. Hamamoto was a second-team all-WAC selection last year with a team-best stroke average of 73.2. Even with his slump, his average has dropped to 72.5 his final season. His wisdom has risen simultaneously.

"J.T. has been pretty much the key to what success we've had the last couple years," Miyashiro said. "His senior leadership has helped a lot. He's advising our younger guys. He's quiet, but when it comes to the team, if he has something to say, he'll voice it. He's pushing the younger guys in the right direction."

Miyashiro isn't pushing Hamamoto in any direction, but thinks he has the game for the next level. And, like his cousin, he has the competitiveness.

"It seems like J.T. has the desire to do well every time he steps on the golf course," Miyashiro said. "If he has trouble with something he's going to work and work and work until he fixes it. That's what has helped him stay at a high competitive level his whole career.

"Not many people have that, and the ones who do are the ones who succeed golf-wise. That will help him with anything he decides to do."

This also could be Miyashiro's final event with the Rainbows. He acknowledged that he is one of the finalists for the head coaching position at Oregon, where he played. Casey Martin, the Ducks' volunteer assistant and a Eugene native, is considered the favorite for the job.

"It's basically me and Casey," said Miyashiro, who has been working on a year-to-year contract since he started in 1998. "It is an opportunity I couldn't pass up — a Pac-10 school and obviously the pay is a lot more."

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.