Steve Stricker carded a final-round 4-under 69 to finish with a 23-under 269 and a three-stroke victory over Martin Laird at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. The win was the 12th of his career and comes in his 398th start. Fresh off of an 18th place finish in the 2011 FedExCup, Stricker collected 500 points to take the early lead in the standings over Martin Laird (300 points). Webb Simpson and Jonathan Byrd finished tied for third at 19-under.
The $5.6 Million Hyundai Tournament of Champions was held Jan. 6-9 at the Kapalua Resort's Plantation Course, featuring a winners-only format.
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Honolulu's Tadd Fujikawa was the only one of Hawaii's five entrants to make the one-under-par cut. His second round 66 was punctuated with a final hole eagle, putting him in a 17th place tie at 5-under heading into the weekend.
Other locals who missed the cut include: Nick Mason 71-73 (144), Parker McLachlin 71-74 (145), Eric Dugas 73-75 (148), and 15-year-old amateur John Oda 73-73 (146). Oda earned the lone amateur spot over his Governor's Cup team members in a special qualifying competition. Nick Mason won the Monday qualifier. Eric Dugas of Waikoloa qualified as the Aloha Section PGA's Player of the Year, and PGA Tour winner Parker McLachlin received a sponsor's exemption.
2012 Sony Open in Hawaii Champion Johnson Wagner.
Johnson Wagner, who entered the final round of the Sony Open in Hawaii two strokes behind Jeff Maggert and Matt Every, carded a 3-under 67 on Sunday to defeat Carl Pettersson, Sean O'Hair, Harrison Frazar and Charles Howell III by two strokes. The win was the third of his career (2011 Mayakoba Golf Classic, 2008 Shell Houston Open) and earned him $990,000. With the victory, Wagner collected 500 FedExCup points to move to the top of the standings by 45 points over Steve Stricker.
Local favorite Tadd Fujikawa of Honolulu made an impressive showing, finishing in a tie for 19th place on rounds of 69-66-71-67 (273). Fujikawa was given a sponsor's exemption when John Daly pulled out and he certainly made the most of his opportunity, earning $69,025.
“Overall I think this is the most consistent I've played and probably the best I've felt about my game,” said Fujikawa.
Dan Forsman went to the top of Mauna Kea, one of the world's highest volcanoes, early in the week. He went a bit higher on Sunday afternoon at Hualalai, winning the season-opening event on the 2012 Champions Tour. Forsman played steady golf throughout the day and won the tournament when he managed to get up and down from greenside bunkers twice on the back nine. At the par-5 14th hole, Forsman hit a spectacular third shot from the sand to within a foot for birdie. Forsman's key birdie moved his margin back to three strokes after Jay Don Blake had birdied the par-4 15th hole just moments earlier. Forsman then saved par from the back greenside bunker at No. 16 to maintain a two-stroke cushion over Blake who would go on to sink a 25-foot birdie at the final hole to post 13-under. Forsman then made two pars on the last two holes for the victory.
Forsman won his third Champions Tour title with a 15-under-par 206 total, earning $307,000 and a return trip to Hualalai for the next two years. Blake was second at 203, and Michael Allen and John Cook finished tied for third at 204.
In the late 1960s, Charles P. Barenaba, Jr. emerged as one of the finest young golfers in America, capturing three national championships in just six years. Before a freakish car accident ended his career at age 24, the young phenom broke new ground for Hawaii golf and set a standard of achievement for a generation of island youth who followed him.
Barenaba grew up in the plantation town of Kahuku on Oahu's remote windward coast. He learned to play on a windswept, nine-hole seaside course. A stylish dresser and ardent student of the game, he first attracted attention at the 1967 Hawaiian Open pro-am, when, at age 13, he matched Arnold Palmer with a score of 79.
In 1968, the young Hawaiian star won the crown for boys' ages 13-14 at the Junior World Golf Championships in San Diego. Three years later, in 1971, he captured the more prestigious 15-17 age division - a feat he shares with Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Nick Price and Ernie Els.
In 1974, Barenaba became the first Hawaii golfer to capture the USGA National Amateur Public Links Championship in Pasadena, California. Returning home, he won the Barbers' Point Open, Mid-Pac Open and Kauai Open the following year.
In 1979, he was working as an assistant professional at the Oahu Country Club when he was hit by wayward car while waiting for a ride home at a Nuuanu Pali bus stop. Although he survived the crash, the accident put an end to his short but brilliant career.
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LPGA Event Returns to Hawaii
The LPGA recently announced a three-year agreement with LOTTE, one of the most respected industrial conglomerates in Korea and Japan, to return to the Hawaiian Islands with the $1.7 million LPGA LOTTE Championship Presented by J Golf, beginning in 2012. The tournament, which will be played April 18-21 with a Saturday finish on Oahu, will feature 144 players. The LPGA Lotte Championship Presented by J Golf will be televised by Golf Channel. The tournament venue will be announced in the coming weeks.
Clyde Rego is one of only a handful of Hawaii golfers to have played on the PGA Tour.
Born into a prominent golfing family, he was the youngest of four children who all went on to become golf professionals. The Regos hailed from Kunia, in central Oahu, and it was there that Clyde took up the game at the age of 7.
As a junior golfer, he qualified for two USGA Junior Amateur Championships and was named to two U.S. Boys Junior America Cup teams. In 1977, he qualified for the U.S. Men's Amateur in Minnesota.
In 1976, Rego captured the Hawaii Public Links title and in 1977 he became the first amateur to win the JAL Rainbow Open. He followed that up by winning the 1978 Manoa Cup, symbolic of the Hawaii State Amateur Match Play Championship.
Following a victory in the 1980 Army Invitational, Rego turned professional in 1981 and qualified for the PGA Tour, playing for two seasons in 1982 and 1983. During the latter season, he qualified for the U.S. Open at Oakmont. Returning to the Islands at the end of 1983, he captured the Hawai'i State Open before claiming his last victory at the 1986 Maui Open.
Members of his family called Clyde "The Bull" because at 6 feet, 230 pounds he was the biggest and strongest. But in 2004, at age 46, his life was tragically cut short after a massive heart attack following complications from a brain aneurysm. At the time, he was contemplating qualifying for the PGA Senior Tour when he turned 50.
Billy Casper Golf (BCG) - owner and operator of more than 130 golf courses, country clubs and resorts - has been selected to manage Bay View Golf Course in Kaneohe, Oahu, Hawaii.
BCG is overseeing all aspects of Bay View's golf operation, including course and property maintenance; sales, marketing and public relations; staffing and training; merchandising; special events and financial management.
One of BCG's key initiatives is to create programs promoting family-friendly golf. Industry-wide “Get Golf Ready” and BCG's own “Golf Fore Women” are also part of the grow-the-game line-up.
“Billy Casper Golf's professional approach will make an immediate impact on course conditions and golfer satisfaction,” says Jerry Appleby, Lead Pastor of Windward Church of the Nazarene, which recently purchased Bay View. “The future is bright for Bay View to once again become a popular gathering place.”
“Bay View is the perfect setting for junior golfers, beginners and families,” says Peter Hill, Chairman and CEO of BCG. “With the commitment to invest capital into the course, the before and after will be dramatic under our company's leadership.”
Initial course-enhancement projects include renovating the irrigation system, installing new grass on greens and implementing an aggressive agronomic plan for consistent turf-grass conditions.
Ed Kageyama, BCG Hawaii Regional Manager, will oversee operations at Bay View. Kageyama has extensive experience working in the Hawaii golf industry, holding positions at Ka'anapali Golf Courses, Turtle Bay, Koolau and Coral Creek. He has twice been recognized as a “Most Admired Operator” by Golf Inc. Magazine.
Princeville's Prince Golf Course has announced a new reopening date of March 1, 2012-an adjustment from the previously announced December date to complete some additional refurbishments to the course and clubhouse. The Prince, ranked as one of the Top 100 courses in the United States, has been closed since January for this extensive facelift.
“We are excited about the refined improvements to the entire facility, which will elevate the golf experience for our guests,” says Mark Scheibach, Vice President of Golf Development for Heritage Links. “We have decided to allow more time to undertake a more thorough renovation of the clubhouse, develop a new ultimate driving range, extend the new turf grow-in period, and provide up-training for staff to deliver a higher level of customer service. We look forward to unveiling the Prince on March 1 as a world-class course with five-star service.”
The Prince has been closed since January 29 for an extensive renovation project, including complete reconstruction of putting greens with SeaDwarf Seashore Paspalum turf and sub-surface material to meet modern USGA specifications; remodeling of bunkers to improve drainage, playability, visibility, and strategic value; clearing of fairways, stream edges, and visual impediments surrounding holes that have encroached upon the design intent of the course over the years; widening of fairways; reshaping of greens while recapturing hole locations that were lost due to green surfaces shrinking; tee leveling and addition of new tees for added shot value and variety; and improvements to ensure the course will be consistently maintained in superb condition.
The 13-acre driving range and practice facility is also undergoing a creative renovation and expansion. The entrance to the course will be updated with new features and landscaping, and the spectacular 60,000-square-foot Prince clubhouse will be refurbished, including creation of golf-specific locker rooms and a newly designed golf shop.
Heritage Links is managing the course renovation work and will manage golf and club operations when the course reopens. The award-winning firm of Robert Trent Jones II, Golf Course Architects (RTJ II) is serving as lead architect on the project under the direction of Chairman and Master Architect Robert Trent Jones, Jr., who designed the Prince Course, which was completed in 1990.
“We are very excited about the ongoing improvements at the course that will further elevate the Prince's continual position in America's Top 100 golf courses,” notes Jones. “We trust all golfers will appreciate these adjustments, and we invite you in March to come experience for yourselves what happens when Mother Nature and great golf coexist so beautifully.”
The Prince Golf Course, on Kauai's lush north shore, is known equally for its challenging play, breathtaking natural beauty, and magnificent layout that follows the natural contours of the land, encompassing 350 acres of rolling terrain, tropical jungle, gullies, streams, and waterfalls. In recent years, the Prince was consistently ranked as the number one course in Hawaii and is recognized on Golf Digest's prestigious list of "America's 100 Greatest Courses” for 2011/2012. For more information on the Prince Course, call toll-free 1-800-826-1105, direct (808) 826-5001, or visit www.princeville.com.
Dan Nishimoto, a golf pro from Kauai, shot 76-74-150 at Waikele CC on O`ahu to win the pro flight of the Hawaii Golf Senior Open Sep. 13-14. He defeated Don Wilburn (151) by one stroke.
Following are the results… mens' amateur A and B flights are by age, rather than by handicap, with one gross winner and the rest were net winners.
Hawaii Golf Senior Open
Waikele Country Club
Sep. 13-14, 2010
Pro Flight
Dan Nishimoto 76-74-150
Don Wilburn 73-78-151
John Kim 79-79-158
A Flight (Ages 50-to-61)
Doug Williams 75-77-152
Jeff Steen (net scores) 70-61-131
Alvin Okada, Sr. (net) 66-75-142
Steve Bitcon (net) 73-71-144
Elmer Tadly (net) 65-79-144
Tom Yoneda (net) 74-71-145
Bill Sheehan (net) 67-79-146
B Flight (Ages 62 and older)
David Kochi 79-77-156
Cliff Nishikawa (net) 68-74-142
Charles Betts (net) 70-73-143
Mike Ohnuma (net) 72-71-143
Tom Hrdlicka (net) 69-75-144
Vince Bradley (net) 66-80-146
David Zerfoss (net) 70-76-146
Perry Lara (net) 70-80-150
Kona Smith (net) 76-76-152
Albert Choy (net) 74-78-152
Womens Flight (Net Scores)
Annette Mathias 67-71-138
Jenny Zerfoss 70-76-146
Sun Ae Arinaga 68-82-150
Mary Castillo 80-75--155
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