PRINCEVILLE — Jared Sawada of Honolulu worked a steady round to win the 2012 Prince Invitational at the Prince Golf Course in Princeville Sunday. Sawada banked on a two-under par 34 on the front nine Saturday. He finished in the
PRINCEVILLE — Jared Sawada of Honolulu worked a steady round to win the 2012 Prince Invitational at the Prince Golf Course in Princeville Sunday.
Sawada banked on a two-under par 34 on the front nine Saturday. He finished in the leader position with a two-under par 70 (34-36) heading into Sunday’s final. He was the only golfer in the championship flight who posted a sub-par round in a day that started with conditions described by Wesley Wailehua, executive director of the Aloha Professional Golf Association, as “a heavy blanket of rain looming over the course.”
The clouds opened up overnight, forcing the committee to start the final round with “carts on path.” Sawada was paired with Alika Bell and Kaua‘i’s Jonathan Ota, who finished the opening round with an even par 72 (37-35).
Sawada stayed ahead of the field of 64 players, finishing the day at 76 for a two-day total of 146 and the championship trophy.
During the round Sawada carded two birdies on holes 16 and 18, attributing the win to being consistent, according to a release from the Aloha PGA.
Ota finished the final round at 80 for a two-day total 152 (72-80), six strokes back of Sawada’s pace. Chris Shimamura (80-74-154) and John Ramirez (76-80-156) rounded out the championship flight.
Sean Maekawa (75-75-150), tied with Andres Feldmann (76-74-150), took the professional flight on a sudden death play-off on the first hole.
Defending champion TJ Kua of Kaua‘i settled for the No. 3 spot after carding a 77 in the final round for a two-round 153 (76-77).
David Havens (79-80-159) and Ron Castillo, Jr. (79-80-159) tied for fourth place followed by Chris Keiter (81-79-160), Jordan Thomas (79-82-161), TJ Baggett (77-86-163) and Glenn Tamagawa (84-83-167).
Serge Bullington, placing third after the opening round, captured the A-Flight on a second-round 83 for a two-day 168, followed by Steve Crago (83-86-169) and Matt Gilbertson (82-90-172).
Leighton Uyeda (85-79-164), Christopher Thomas (84-89-173) and Bob Reeve (85-89-174) filled in the B-Flight.
“The Prince Course is rated among the Top 100 courses in the United States and many of the players experienced first-hand why it received that rating this weekend,” said Wailehua. “After 124 rounds, the front nine average score was 43, while the back nine scoring average was 44 with a total-score average of 87 between the four flights.”
