KAHUKU — With the energy and endurance of a child, or at least nine young men and three older guys, the amateur team successfully defended its championship yesterday in the 36th annual Gov. John A. Burns Challenge Cup at Turtle Bay Resort.

A team dominated by students rallied from a two-point, first-day deficit to win with 12.5 points, to the pros' 11.5. It is only the second time in history the amateurs have won two in a row, the first coming in 1987 and '88.

They trailed 10-6 at one point yesterday, but won six of the final seven matches. University of Hawai'i freshman TJ Kua clinched the Cup by beating pro Tadd Fujikawa, who is a year younger, with a three-foot par putt on the next-to-last hole.

That guaranteed at least a tie, which would have retained the Cup for the amateurs. 'Iolani freshman Lorens Chan transformed it into an outright victory when he caught Mid-Pacific pro Joe Phengsavath with a fist-pumping 15-foot birdie putt on their 16th hole and the two ended up halving the final match. Phengsavath had fought back from 3-down, and gone 1-up on their 15th hole when he nearly holed his approach shot.

It is the amateurs' 12th win in the annual Ryder Cup-style exhibition that matches 12 of the state's best professionals against 12 of its best amateurs. Golfers earn their spots based on results at designated tournaments during the year. The pro team was missing five of its top 12 this year, including 2008 Player of the Year John Lynch and third-ranked Kevin Hayashi.

Opening day featured two 18-hole team matches, played Monday on Turtle Bay's Arnold Palmer Course. Yesterday's 12 singles matches were on the George Fazio Course.

The event honors the late Gov. John A. Burns, who was inducted into the Hawai'i Golf Hall of Fame its inaugural year for his efforts in bringing the Canada Cup (World Cup) matches and Hawaiian Open here.

Along with bragging rights the next two years, the 12 amateurs also earned the chance to try and qualify for the lone amateur slot in next month's Sony Open in Hawai'i. They play off Monday at Waialae Country Club. Two years ago, Fujikawa qualified and went on to finish 20th. He turned pro a few months later.

Yesterday, he was the most visibly disappointed of all the pros after failing to chase down Kua, who was 4-up after the first five holes.

"The scary thing is I know he can attack from anywhere," Kua said of Fujikawa. "Even though it seemed like he was out of it I had to tell myself that he could still win it. I've seen him drain long putts when he really needed to and hit some amazing shots with a lot of pressure on him. I knew I had to stay on it."

Earlier, pro John Hearn and amateur David Fink, an 'Iolani senior, clinched victories with clutch putts on the 18th hole to square the overall match at 11-all. Hearn got up and down from 70 yards after Brandan Kop — the amateurs' resident sage as he closes on senior golf status — chipped in on the previous hole to pull within one. Fink's 15-foot birdie gave him his only lead of the day over Regan Lee.

That left Kua with a 2-up lead on Fujikawa, with three holes to play, and Phengsavath and Chan even after 14.

Jonathan Ota, the amateurs' other "older guy," had driven out to tell the final four precisely what they were playing for, which was everything. Then it got interesting, with the participants and a small gallery following the final two matches.

The event plans to return to its November date, and Mid-Pacific Country Club, next year. Ron Castillo Jr. will take over for his father as the pros' coach.

Phengsavath has an idea about how the pros can get the Cup back: "We got to wait until they all turn pro," he said. "Travis (Toyama) is going to turn pro at Pearl Open. That's one guy eliminated."

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8043

FINAL DAY

Singles Results

Amateurs 7.5, Pros 4.5

Jonathan Ota (a) def. Kalani Kia'aina (p) 5 and 4

David Gerken (p) def. Max Bonk (a) 6 and 5

Matt Pakkala (p) def. Alex Chu (a) 2 and 1

John Hearn (p) def. Brandan Kop (a) 1-up

Bradley Shigezawa (a) def. Lance Taketa (p) 4 and 3

Alex Ching (a) def. Kevin Carll (p) 4 and 3

Travis Toyama (a) def. Beau Yokomoto (p) 3 and 2

David Fink (a) def. Regan Lee (p) 1-up

Chris Igawa (a) def. Ron Castillo Jr. 3 and 2

Andrew Feldmann (p) def. Neal Takara (a) 5 and 4

TJ Kua (a) def. Tadd Fujikawa 2 and 1

Joe Phengsavath (p) halved with Lorens Chan (a)

FINAL TOTAL

Amateurs 12.5, Pros 11.5