One of Kaua’i’s own is representing the island on a national level. And holding his own. Local golfing legend Daniel Nishimoto is tied for 22nd after two rounds of the U.S. Senior Open, one of the four majors on the
One of Kaua’i’s own is representing the island on a national level. And holding his own.
Local golfing legend Daniel Nishimoto is tied for 22nd after two rounds of the U.S. Senior Open, one of the four majors on the Senior PGA Tour.
Nishimoto, born and raised on Kaua’i and a resident of Lihu’e, fired a 3-over-par 73 on Thursday. He followed that with a 72 Friday to leave himself 5-over-par for the tournament, being held at Salem Country Club in Peabody, Mass.
“Daniel is one of the golfing legends here on Kaua’i,” said friend and golfing buddy Russell Furusho. “We’re all really proud of him and hoping he makes it into the top 10 so we can watch him on television.”
NBC will be televising the tournament’s third round beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday. Nishimoto, 52, will begin weekend play with a 12:25 p.m. EST tee time. He will be paired with Dave Eichelberger. He will be teeing off exactly 30 minutes before Jack Nicklaus.
“He had to qualify for the tournament a week or 10 days ago,” Furusho said. “He beat some pretty good players just to get in.”
Furusho said Nishimoto turned pro about 10 years ago, after spending most of his working life in the banking industry.
He participated in some tours in the Far East, and tried to get on the Nike Tour, but was never quite good enough to earn his living via golf.
That changed when Nishimoto turned 50, and thus became eligible for the senior tour. Since then, he’s qualified for a variety of tournaments.
“Golfing is his livelihood now,” Furusho said.
As for his play at the U.S. Senior Open, Nishimoto has dropped in three birdies and an eagle to go with seven bogeys and one glaring triple bogey on Friday. Without that, Nishimoto would be much nearer the top of the leaderboard.
Nishimoto is averaging 270.3 yards off the tee. He’s hitting 54 percent of the fairways and 47 percent of greens in regulation. He’s averaging 28 putts per round.
“He’s told me that with his driver and his irons he can play with the best out there,” Furusho said. “It’s the mental game when he gets to the putting green where he admits he’s still lacking.”
