PO‘IPU — Kelli Oride and Levi Miyashiro copped a piece of the first and second places in the Hawai‘i State Junior Golf Association’s Mixed Team Championship, Sunday. Playing under cloudy, windy conditions peppered with bouts of rain showers, the team
PO‘IPU — Kelli Oride and Levi Miyashiro copped a piece of the first and second places in the Hawai‘i State Junior Golf Association’s Mixed Team Championship, Sunday.
Playing under cloudy, windy conditions peppered with bouts of rain showers, the team of Oride and Corey Kozuma of Kane‘ohe, O‘ahu, finished the final round with a three-over par 75.
That score was matched by the team of Reo Saito and Eimi Koga, but the Oride/Kozuma high score of 67, Saturday, helped the team to a 142 combined total for the tournament title.
Levi Miyashiro, teaming with Cassy Isagawa of Maui, finished Sunday’s round two strokes back at 77. Combining with Saturday’s second-best round score of 71, the duo finished in a tie for second with the Saito/Koga team at 148.
The tie was broken using the scorecard playoff.
Ciera Min and Scott Yamashita rose to the challenge of the blustery weather to finish the final round at 78, a stroke better than the team of Landon Johnson and Nani Yanagi.
However, the Johnson/Yanagi team finished Saturday’s round a stroke better than Min/Yamashita resulting in a tie at 150 following Sunday’s round.
“There were a lot of close scores following Saturday’s round so it was kind of hard to see who was in the lead,” said Wayne Miyata, one of the Kaua‘i Junior Golf Association officials who was monitoring the No. 9 hole during the final round.
Hee Sue Condry partnered with both Brian Lee and Justin Chu and resulted in the Lee/Condry duo finishing at 151 (74-77) over the Chu/Condry combo at 153 (76-77).
Aaron Tom and Cassy Isagawa finished at 157 (69-88) followed by the brother-sister team of George and Allisen Corpuz at 159 (75-84).
The Kaua‘i duo of Ken Miyata and Daezsa Tomas rounded out the field at 173 (80-93).
Each two-person team consisted of one boy and one girl from the 13-189 age division, states a release from the HSJGA. The first round was played using Four-Ball Stroke Play and the final round was played using Foursome Stroke Play.
The Po‘ipu Bay Golf Course, described as in excellent condition, played at 6,499 yards for the boys and 6,023 yards for the girls.
The Mixed Team Championship will help prepare Hawai‘i Team members compete in a similar Ryder Cup format being played against the top junior golfers from Japan later this year during the third annual USA Hawai‘i-Japan Junior Cup that will play Nov. 5-8 at the Waikoloa Kings’ Course on the Big Island.
Lauren Yama, the HSJGA director of marketing and communications, said the success of the tournament, including having golfers contend with dodging traffic caused by road closures from the Kaua‘i Marathon to make their tee times, would not have been possible without the help of Craig Sasada, Director of Golf at the Po‘ipu Bay Golf Course.
