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Rainbow Open starts tomorrow Advertiser Staff Stephen Enriquez is back from Texas to defend his title at the 28th annual Sports Shinko Rainbow Open, beginning tomorrow at Mililani Golf Club. Enriquez won last year while on vacation. He birdied the final hole to beat Juan Rodriguez — Chi Chi's nephew — by a shot. Casey Nakama, who won the Maui Open earlier this month, was third. Nakama, the 1987 Rainbow winner, is one of 10 former champions in the field. That includes five-time champion Lance Suzuki, who last won in 1994, and two-time champion Larry Stubblefield, who won in 1985 as an amateur and 1975 as a pro. Stubblefield, who regained his professional status last year, won the Mid-Pacific Open in April and was inducted into the Hawai'i Golf Hall of Fame a day later. Amateurs in the tournament include brothers Norman-Ganin and Kellen-Floyd Asao, who reached the Manoa Cup semifinals last week and will play together at the University of Hawai'i in the fall. UCLA's Parker McLachlin and state amateur champion Randy Shibuya are also entered. Of the 218 players, 60 are pros and 50 are from Japan, including two pros. The tournament offers more than $30,000 in cash and prizes, with the winner getting $5,000. Tomorrow's Pro-Am will donate $14,000 to non-profit organizations in Hawai'i. Play begins at 6:30 each morning, with the leaders expected in at approximately 4 p.m. Sunday. There is no admission charge. • Author to speak: Today is the deadline to register for Monday's "Extraordinary Golf" experience with Fred Shoemaker. The event will run from noon to 5 at Princeville Golf Club. Cost is $50. Shoemaker is the author of "Extraordinary Golf: The Art of the Possible," and founder of Extraordinary Golf, in Carmel, Calif. He developed the coaching style after having a "golf crisis" of his own. He will share his insight on how "we stop concerning ourselves with how we look and start concerning ourselves with how and why we play the game. How do we justify spending so much time and money on a game? Do we know how our bodies move when we swing? Are we aware of points in our swing in which we lose our focus?" Call the Aloha Section PGA (593-2230) to register. • Business meeting: Business leaders, golf professionals and 36 of the state's best juniors will come together Sunday, July 8, at a benefit tournament for the Hawai'i State Junior Golf Association. The Aloha Section PGA and HSJGA are organizing the event, which will be at Turtle Bay Resort prior to the Callaway Hawai'i State Junior Championship. Entry fee for business leaders – inv invited by their golf pros – is $500. It is tax-deductible. The tournament hopes to provide a mentoring opportunity along with supporting HSJGA. Format is combined low gross and low net best ball of the foursome. For information, call Greg Nichols (732-1457), the HSJGA (532-0559) or the Aloha Section (593-2230). • Dates set: Ticket and schedule information for the upcoming Turtle Bay Championship, Sony Open in Hawai'i and MasterCard Championship is available from tournament organizer Communicator Sports & Entertainment in Honolulu. The Turtle Bay Championship, a full-field Senior PGA Tour stop, will be Oct. 5-7 on the North Shore. Hale Irwin is expected to defend the championship he won last year on Maui. Information is available by calling 545-1588. The tournament will be played on the Palmer Course at Turtle Bay Resort, formerly Links at Kuilima. Admission will be charged for the first time, with daily tickets $10 and a three-day pass $20. Brad Faxon will defend his championship at the PGA Tour's 2002 Sony Open, Jan. 10-13 at Wai'alae Country Club. Ticket information is available at 523-7888 or www.sonyopeninhawaii.com. Senior tour winners from the past two years, and major champions from the past five, will be on the Big Island for the 2002 MasterCard Championship, Jan. 18-20 at Hualalai. Call 545-3767, on O'ahu, for information. • Dolphin Days: The seventh annual Dolphin Days golf tournament will be held on Saturday, June 30 at the Waikoloa Beach Resort and Troon championship Kings' Course. The shotgun start for the four-man scramble tournament will begin at 7:30 a.m. and is limited to the first 144 players. Registration for the tournament is $135 per player. The fee includes 18 holes with cart, use of driving range, continental breakfast, gift bag and post-tournament lunch. Official entry forms for the Dolphin Days tournament are available by calling 886-1234. Money raised from the tournament will benefit Hawai'i Shriners Hospital for Children and the Pacific Marine Life Foundation. |
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