Pepperdine senior golfer Rachel Kyono of Lawa‘i earned West Coast Conference (WCC) “Player of the Month” honors for the month of September, the conference announced on Monday. Kyono shot rounds of 73-72-71 for a 3-under par score of 216 at
Pepperdine senior golfer Rachel Kyono of Lawa‘i earned West Coast Conference (WCC) “Player of the Month” honors for the month of September, the conference announced on Monday.
Kyono shot rounds of 73-72-71 for a 3-under par score of 216 at the Branch Law/Dick McGuire Invitational, leading the Waves to a third place finish. Led by Kyono’s final-round 71, the Waves were one of only two teams to shoot under par during the final 18 holes.
The senior from Lawai did not shoot an above-par round at the tournament en route to tying for fourth place.
Kyono has a 72.00 stroke average after her opening tournament.
Kyono, a 2001 graduate of Kaua‘i High School considered UH before choosing Pepperdine.
Her personal goals for the seaon are to gain yardage and post a scoring average of 74 or better.
As a prepster, Kyono was inducted to the Nissan Hawai‘i High School Hall of Honor in 2001, where only 12 student-athletes are chosen annually.
She also won the Hawai‘i state high school championships following rounds of 72 and 71.
As a freshman at Pepperdine, Kyono participated in all 11 of the team’s tournaments and recorded a 77.32 scoring average.
She also had four top 10 finishes.
In the summer of 2002, Kyono captured the Hawai‘i State Women’s Amateur Stroke-Play Championships with a 1-over par total of 217.
As a sophomore, Kyono was named to the All-West Coast Conference squad and recorded a 76.70 scoring average in 33 rounds.
She had five top 20 finishes and two top 10 showings.
During her 2003 summer break from Pepperdine, Kyono was on hand to witness the Kaua‘i High School boys and girls state golf titles at Wailua Golf Course.
Kyono rode along in the same cart with one of her idols, Hall of Famer, Mary Bea Porter King, who is also one of the persons she named as her dream foursome, which also includes the likes of Phil Mickelson and Davis Love III.
Kyono chose Pepperdine because of the beautiful campus and it was the closest place away from Hawai‘i that is on the mainland. Her favorite golf course is the Po‘ipu Bay Golf Course.
Ironically, Mickelson will be playing on the Po‘ipu Bay Golf Course in November at the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, along with Vijay Singh, Todd Hamilton, and Retief Goosen.
