Kaua‘i Junior Golfers open Spring Classic

PO‘IPU — A major golf tournament moved the Spring Classic for the Under 12s up by a day, said Wayne Miyata, one of the age group leaders for the Kaua‘i Junior Golf Association.

Unfortunately, illness and out-of-town trips whittled the field of Under 12 golfers to 11 players, but that did not stop the young golfers from tackling the Kiahuna Golf Club course Saturday.

“This is one of the tournaments that is for Kaua‘i Juniors only,” Miyata said. “That’s why the ones who couldn’t make this tournament were really bummed.”

Among those playing in the Saturday round was Trevor Kua, brother of University of Hawai‘i golfer T.J. Kua. He was accompanied by Ken Miyata who was getting a feel for the course in preparation for his Sunday round.

Miyata said the Spring Classic will continue Sunday when the players ages 13-18 take the field at the Kiahuna Golf Club.

Registration for that age group ends today, states the KJGA Web site.

Following the Spring Classic, Miyata said one of the big tournaments for the Junior Golfers is the Chica Ishii Stroke Play Championship which is scheduled to run May 30-31 and June 6.

Registration for that tournament is May 25.

The Kaua‘i Junior Golf Association was founded in the 1960s by Chica Ishii, Mitchell Ota, Toyo Shirai and Tom Tomimoto, who all shared a desire to introduce youngsters to the sport and a willingness to help them develop their golf skills.

Since the program started, the KJGA has seen numerous Juniors develop into avid golfers, many of whom have gone on to compete nationally on the amateur, collegiate and professional levels.

More recently, the brother-sister team of Cory and Kelley Oride, the 2009 Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation Individualists of the Year, completed their respective state competitions in the top five.

For more information, visit www.kjga.org.