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Posted on: Thursday, December 13, 2001
Senior PGA tickets on sale
Advertiser Staff
Tickets are on sale for the 2002 Senior Skins Game, Jan. 25-26 at Wailea, Maui, and the MasterCard Championship, Jan. 15-20 at Hualalai on the Big Island.
Senior Skins will feature Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Hale Irwin and Fuzzy Zoeller at Wailea's Gold Course. The pro-am will be Friday and all 18 holes will be played Saturday. Tickets are $10 Friday and $30 Saturday. Children 12 and under are free but must be accompanied by a ticketed adult.
Tickets can bought on the Internet at seniorskinswailea.com; through the mail by calling 879-4461 on Maui or 1-800-332-1614 and requesting a Senior Skins brochure, which includes a mail-order form; or, on Maui at the Wailea Golf Club pro shops and Queen Ka'ahumanu Shopping Center information booth.
Tickets also will be available next month at the Sports Authority in Kahului, Lahaina Cannery Mall, Ka'anapali Golf Club pro shop, Kihei Discount Golf, Nevada Bob's in Kihei, and most Wailea hotels.
The MasterCard Championship is the first event of the 2002 Senior PGA season. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster ( 1-877-357-7276 or www.ticketmaster.com) and all eight First Hawaiian Bank branches on the Big Island.
Admission is $20 for a season pass and $10 for a one-day pass.
Tickets also can be purchased by calling the tournament office (1-800-417-2770) and at the gate, which will be open at 7 a.m. Tuesday-Sunday.
The MasterCard Championship field will consist of 33 players who have won senior tour major championships within the last five years and/or have won a tour event the last two years. Included will be defending champion Larry Nelson, 2001 leading money winner Allen Doyle and World Golf Hall of Fame members Raymond Floyd, Irwin, Lee Trevino and Tom Watson.
Ishii's streak intact
By qualifying Monday, David Ishii kept "The Streak" alive in the Hawaiian and now Sony Open at the Waialae Country Club. Winner of the 1990 Hawaiian Open, Ishii has played in the event every year since 1987.
"Each year it's getting more abunai (dangerous)," said Ishii, who shot an even-72 along with Tommy Hines to win the two Sony Open in Hawai'i spots in the Aloha Section PGA Qualifying. Kaua'i's Jonathan Ota claimed the lone amateur spot with a 71.
Last year, Ishii had to qualify the Monday of the tournament to keep his streak intact, after faring poorly in the sectional qualifying the month before.
"I haven't played good in Japan this year," said Ishii, who added that he wasn't going to try to qualify the week of the 2002 Sony Open if he hadn't made it Monday.
Ishii made only three cuts on the JPGA Tour this year, missing the cut by one stroke six times.
"I struggled, really was frustrated, but I made the cut in two of my last tournaments. That was good. I made this one, too, so it's maybe a good sign for next year," he said.
Ishii's other "Streak" — a 15-year run in the Johnny Bellinger Shoot-Out — most likely will continue now that he has made the 2002 Sony Open field. The shoot-out has been replaced by the First Hawaiian Bank Pro/Junior Golf Challenge in which a professional will be paired with a junior golfer. Ishii's popularity should make his addition to the charity event a no-brainer.
Royal Kunia's Guy
Guy Yamamoto is the new director of golf operations for the Royal Kunia Country Club, scheduled to open in April.
"It's exciting to be on the ground level of a new golf course," said Yamamoto, director of golf 11 of the 14 years he spent at the Olomana Golf Links.
"It was a hard decision. Olomana has been like a family to me. The Mizunos (owner Taeko and her son, Jake) understand that this was an opportunity for me to be around my own family," Yamamoto said.
Royal Kunia is practically right next door to Yamamoto's Waipahu home. "It'll be more accessible for me," he said. The 1994 National Amateur Public Links champion and his wife, Terry, have two sons — Marcus, 3, and Micah, 2.
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