Hawai'i's junior golfers flexed their muscles again yesterday, taking a first-day lead and running with it for a rare amateur team victory in the Gov. John A. Burns Challenge Cup.

The amateurs went into singles with a 6 1/2-5 1/2 advantage after Monday's team matches. They grabbed early leads in most matches yesterday at Mid-Pacific Country Club and finished with a 13 1/2-10 1/2 win.

It was only the 11th time the amateurs won in the 35-year history of the event. The format has 12 of the state's best pros playing Ryder Cup-style matches against an amateur team picked by a point system during the year.

The 12 amateurs who qualified play for one Sony Open in Hawai'i slot next month at Waialae Country Club, hoping to follow in the golf shoesteps of Tadd Fujikawa. He parlayed his qualifying spot into a 20th-place finish last January, then turned pro at age 16.

Fujikawa appears to have a gang in pursuit. Three on the amateur team were older than 40. The next-oldest was University of Hawai'i senior Ryan Perez. The rest were teenagers, with 'Iolani School eighth-grader Lorens Chan the youngest at 13.

Chan beat Ron Castillo Jr. yesterday, 3 and 2. Ron Castillo Sr., the pro captain and a member of the Hawai'i Golf Hall of Fame, was thoroughly impressed.

"The young players, they were awesome," Castillo said. "These kids are not old enough to drive. ... But they are pretty skillful. They make golf look easy, just go for it. I'm impressed with the caliber of golf these kids have."

Pros Casey Nakama, Shane Abe, Joe Phengsavath and Kirk Nelson won their singles matches. Nakama beat 2006 state high school champion Chan Kim, who now lives in Arizona but returned for the Cup.

Amateur winners were Alex Ching and Alex Chu — who won all three of their matches — along with Paul Kimura, Henry Park, Bradley Shigezawa and Chan. The other two matches tied.

Captain Phil Anamizu called his amateur team the youngest in history, and maybe the most fearless.

"Lorens Chan impresses me a lot," Anamizu said. "He has a solid game. He is really, really impressive. You watch kids like Bradley and Chan Kim and there is so much power in their game. Even the little guys all hit it long."

Castillo said he had one hope when the amateurs took control after the turn: "Call the cops and check curfew."

When that didn't happen, he thought about next year.

"If they are any good," Castillo figured, "they'll turn pro and I can recruit 'em."