Before the LPGA Tour opens its season on the North Shore, there will be an amateur pre-qualifier for a spot in the SBS Open at Turtle Bay's Monday Qualifier. The prequalifier will be Feb. 8 on Turtle Bay's George Fazio Course.

The Monday Qualifier will be held the following day on the Palmer Course. The LPGA allows two amateurs to enter a Monday Qualifier for any of its full-field, nonmajor events. The rest of the field for the Monday Qualifier is made up of nonexempt LPGA players.

Entry fee for the pre-qualifier is $75. Proceeds benefit the North Shore Youth Athletic Foundation, which conducts clinics, offers scholarships and supports other North Shore associations.

To register, visit www.TurtleBayGolf.com. For more information, contact Matthew Hall at Turtle Bay Golf (293-8574).

The SBS Open, the LPGA Tour's first full-field event of the season, is Feb. 12 to 14 on Turtle Bay's Arnold Palmer Course. Past champions are Jennifer Rosales, Joo Mi Kim, Paula Creamer and Annika Sorenstam.

SR. STARS AT FUNDRAISER

Senior stars Hale Irwin, Jay Haas, Craig Stadler, Andy North and Tom Watson will be part of the Hawai'i Junior Golf Association's largest fundraiser of the year Monday when they appear in "An Evening of Champions" at Nanea Golf Club on the Big Island.

Sponsor levels are $500 for individual tickets, $2,500 for "Birdie" level, which includes two tickets and recognition at HSJGA events, and $6,000 for "Eagle" level, with four tickets and HSJGA recognition. For information, call the HSJGA at 532-0559.

FINAL OF ACES TO VEGAS

The final of Hawaiian Airlines' Aces To Vegas contest will be Sunday at Mililani Golf Club, at 10 a.m.

The hole-in-one contest began Jan. 1, 2008, with golfers attempting to qualify by making an ace on any of Mililani's par-3 holes during the year. The grand prize is four tickets to Las Vegas and two rooms for five days and four nights at California Hotel, with meals and $200 cash.

Faxon Hanuna and Aaron Hayakawa qualified by making holes-in-one. They will try to win the grand prize by sinking a putt from 50 feet. If neither sinks the putt, the closest to the hole wins. The runner-up gets two interisland tickets.

UH-HILO INVITATIONAL

The 19th annual UH-Hilo Invitational will be played Feb. 4 to 6 at Mauna Lani North. The 18 teams in the tournament include Southern California, No. 2 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index, as well as No. 8 Arizona State and No. 10 Georgia Tech.

The Trojans have Matthew Giles, ranked No. 1 at the end of the fall season, and Jamie Lovemark, who is No. 6.

Other teams include Fresno State, Stanford, UH-Manoa, San Francisco and the Vulcans.

Format is 54-hole stroke play with the low four scores counting each day. Play begins with a 12:30 p.m. shotgun start on Feb. 4. Players tee off from 7:30 a.m. Thursday and Friday.

BALANCE POINT REOPENS

Balance Point Golf Schools, a two-time Golf Magazine Top 25 Golf School, will re-open at Ko Olina Golf Club Saturday. Instruction programs run through April 16.

One- to five-day golf schools are offered, covering full swing fundamentals, mental game and short game. Balance Point founder Jim Waldron was named one of the Top 400 golf instructors in the nation by the Golf Magazine. His schools "integrate swing mechanics, balance, tempo and fitness training with mental conditioning."

Balance Point Golf Schools have conducted instruction programs in Hawai'i annually since 1995. For more information, visit www.balancepointgolf.com or call 800-898-4563.

SCHOLARSHIPS OFFERED

Applications for the David S. Ishii Foundation scholarships have been sent to all high schools and are also available on the foundation Web site (www.davidsishiifoundation.org). Four $2,500 grants are available and will be awarded to two females and two males.

Applicants must plan to graduate from high school in the 2008-09 academic year and be an active member of a Hawai'i high school golf team. They must also plan to attend an accredited U.S. college fulltime and maintain a 2.0 grade point average.

Financial need may be considered in the selection process and applicants must submit a short essay (no longer than 250 words) about the influence of golf in their lives.

Applications must be postmarked by April 30. For information, call 478-6440.

NOTES

Guests on Sunday's "Emily T. Gail Talks Golf" show, at 5 p.m. on ESPN Radio AM850 Hilo AM790 Kona, include the volunteer coordinators and manager for the upcoming Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai. Waikoloa's Scott Head will also be a guest and introduce Waikoloa touring pro Parker McLachlin's new charity program — "Birdies for Juniors," where the pro donates $50 for every birdie on the PGA Tour's West Coast Swing. Waikoloa matches that to benefit the Hawai'i State Junior Golf Association.