KALAHEO — Ties for first place and third place set the pace for the Kaua‘i Junior Golf Association’s 3-club tournament Saturday at the Kukuiolono Golf Course. Ron Peeren of the KJGA said he was glad to see the tournament resume.
KALAHEO — Ties for first place and third place set the pace for the Kaua‘i Junior Golf Association’s 3-club tournament Saturday at the Kukuiolono Golf Course.
Ron Peeren of the KJGA said he was glad to see the tournament resume.
“We didn’t have it for awhile, but today, we have at least 18 golfers and it’ll be interesting to see which clubs they choose,” he said.
A golfer coming off his round was noticing the intense practice by the young golfers.
“We used to have these 3-club tournaments at the golf course I worked with,” he said. “It’s always a lot of fun.”
Peeren said the KJGA golfers could select just three clubs to play nine holes at Kukuiolono. Tournament play rules apply, and following the stroke play, golfers would draw for pairings to make the results even more interesting.
Hiilani Alana and Reece Valencia finished with 41 to tie for top honors in the 10 & Under grouping. That pair was followed by Rilen Loo, enthusiastically working his clubs during practice prior to the round, and Logan Gibson, each golfer carding a 46 over nine holes.
Another tight match played out in the 15-18 championship flight where Kaiton Sawada finished with a 50, just a stroke ahead of Daniel Miller at 51.
Na‘ea Oda was two strokes better than K.C. Loo. Oda, getting pre-round advice from her dad, ended the nine holes with a 45 followed by Loo at 47 in the 11-12 championship division.
Bryden Salvador (52) and Landen Nishida (53) followed in the tight fight for third place in that flight.
Keith Jose, packing some lumber, controlled the 11-12 “A” flight with a 10-stroke advantage over second place finisher Steven Braun.
Jose carded a 47 over the nine holes followed by Braun netting a 57, just a stroke better than Vance Tokita’s 58 for third place. Michael Miller rounded out the flight at 69.
Similarly, Ken Miyata was in the driver’s seat of the 13-14 championship flight with a 41 over Daezsa Tomas’ 51, and Matthias Davis finished with a 48 to lead the 13-14 “A” flight over Jordan Guerrero (58).
More junior golf activity is on tap for the Labor Day weekend as the Hawai‘i State Junior Golf Association hosts the State Mixed Championship (boy-girl teams) at the Po‘ipu Bay Golf Course. Tee times start at 11 a.m. on Sept. 5, and 7 a.m. on Sept. 6.
That tournament will be followed by the HSJGA State Junior Tour Series at the Puakea Golf Course on Sept. 19-20.
Some of the Kaua‘i golfers slated to be part of the HSJGA State Mixed Championship include Braedon Robley, Taylor Viquelia, Kelli Oride, Pono Tokioka, Tomas and Miyata, said Brian Mamaclay, a KJGA official.
Mamaclay said in addition to the above golfers, Levi Miyashiro is scheduled to partner with Cassy Isagawa of Maui, one of the top golfers in the state who was recently participating in a televised National Junior Qualifier.
He said pairings and tee times should be appearing this week at the HSJGA Web site at www.hsjga.org.
