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Posted on: Thursday, July 26, 2001
• A grand field taking shape for Po'ipu
• Waialae pro named top instructor
Around the greens
Team Punahou set for tourney
By Bill Kwon
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Parker McLachlin, who will be a senior at UCLA this year, is excited to play in the 25th Pacific Coast Amateur Championship. "It's just a fun tournament with a team setting," he said.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
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Parker McLachlin, who won the Sports Shinko Rainbow Open and the O'ahu Country Club Men's Invitational, hopes to continue his successful summer run before returning to UCLA for his senior year.
His next showcase will be the 25th Pacific Coast Amateur Championship in Flagstaff, Ariz., where he will join fellow Punahou graduates Jim Seki and Tony Okano as Hawai'i's representatives for the second year in a row.
"It's just a fun tournament with a team setting. We don't play many tournaments like that," McLachlin said about the 72-hole event, which begins Monday at the Forest Highlands and Meadows Golf Course.
"I'm looking forward to it," McLachlin said. "Jim and I played in the U.S. Juniors there in 1997."
For Seki, a Stanford junior who reached the second round of the National Public Links Championship earlier this month, it's perhaps the most favorite of all of the golf courses he has played.
That's saying something, considering last year's tournament was held at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, site of the 1998 U.S. Open.
"It was neat, seeing what the course was like after watching the Open," said Seki, who will be playing in the PCA event for the fourth straight year. The experience should help, he said.
Okano, who just graduated from Santa Clara with a degree in accounting, was also excited at the chance to play the course last year when the Utah team made up of Johnny Miller's three sons — Andy, Scott and Todd — won the team title.
McLachlin was also awed while playing Olympic. But he thinks this year's venue is every bit as challenging and perhaps even more scenic, especially because it's in the high Arizona desert.
"It's about 7,000 feet in elevation with a lot of pine trees," he added. "It (the yardage) looks long on paper. But because of the elevation, it doesn't play as long as it seems."
The unique feature of the par-72 course is that there are six par-5 holes, six par-3s and six par-4s. Four of the par-3 holes measure more than 200 yards in length, according to McLachlin. But it's a 6-iron on a couple of them for him, he said.
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| Richard Ho Photo Team Punahou, from left, Richard Ho, Parker McLachlin, Tony Okano and Jim Seki at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser |
The tournament format calls for a combined best two out of three individual scores each day in team competition. Last year Team Punahou finished ninth among the 26 teams entered, with McLachlin barely missing a top-10 finish in individual play.
"We're proud to send them again. They're the best we have right now," said Dr. Richard Ho, team captain and president of the sponsoring Hawai'i State Golf Association.
He's optimistic they'll make an even better showing this time around, perhaps posting the best finish yet by a Hawai'i team. In 1987, the first year Hawai'i competed, the team of Larry Stubblefield, Les Uyehara and Wendell Tom finished seventh out of 16 teams.
"Since joining the Pacific Coast Golf Association, we've been sending our top players so that they can play with the best amateurs," Ho said. Besides exposure, the event also leads to earning points toward making the U.S. Walker Cup team, he added.
In recent years, Ho has been sending college players. He wanted a representative from the University of Hawai'i golf team, particularly Norman-Ganin Asao and Scott Carlyle. But Asao had other commitments, and Carlyle transferred to the University of California.
Hawai'i will send another three-man team to the USGA State Team Championship at the Hazeltine Golf Course in Minnesota this September, according to Ho.
Following next week's tournament, Seki and McLachlin will try to qualify for the U.S. Amateur Championship in Atlanta next month. For McLachlin, especially, his summer is far from over.
Bill Kwon can be reached at bkwon@aloha.net.
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| Wanted: Aces with story to tell
Advertiser Staff
Was hit a perfect shot?
Was it blind luck?
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Tell us about your experience shooting a hole-in-one.
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Stories must be typed and brief, around 50 to 100 words. They must include the date, course, hole, yardage and club selection.
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Notices
COMING UP
Aug. 3-5 — Big Island Amateur. The 78th Big Island Amateur golf tournament will be held at the Waikoloa Kings and Beach courses.
The 54-hole medal tournament is limited to year-round Big Island residents with a verifiable June USGA Slope Index. Entry fee is $150. Besides a championship flight, all other flights will be determined based on the number of entries and their handicaps. Practice rounds will be available for $39 for all participants, beginning tomorrow. Entry forms are available at all Big Island golf shops or by calling (808) 886-6060. Deadline is July 30.
Aug. 3 — Hawai'i Judo Cup Benefit Golf Tournament and Banquet. At Pearl Country Club. Registration starts 10 a.m., Shotgun start at noon. Fee: $125 (includes banquet), $50 banquet only. Information: Ken Sunada 258-4166 or Clifton Sunada 547-2481.
Aug. 4 — Dunes at Maui Lani grand opening and blessing. The Dunes at Maui Lani Golf Course will hold a grand opening ceremony and blessing of its new clubhouse and restaurant Aug. 4. The program will begin at 6 p.m. and will include a hole-in-one contest under the lights at the 18th green.
Aug. 8 — Honpa Hongwanji Hawai'i Betsuin 5th Annual Golf Tournament. At the Ala Wai Golf Course. Check-in 11 a.m.; Shotgun start 12:30 p.m. Format: 3 person modified scramble. Fee: $100 per person ($50 tax deductible). Entry forms deadline is July 28 (limited to first 198 golfers). Information: Mel Kawahara 352-5550.
Aug. 30 — U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur Qualifying. Local qualifying for the USGA Women's Mid-Amateur Championship will be held at the Mid-Pacific Country Club.
The event is for amateur women 25 years and older with a 9.4 handicap index or less. The national event will be held Oct. 6-11 at the Fox Run Golf Club in Eureka, Mo. Entry forms can be downloaded from the usga.org website.
Entry deadline is Aug. 8. For more information, call Kathy Ordway at 262-2428 or through email at ordwayk001@hawaii.rr.com. |
HOW TO GET LISTED
To have your event included in upcoming sports notices, please write to:
Sports Notices
c/o Advertiser Sports
P.O. Box 3110
Honolulu, HI 96802
e-mail to: sports@honoluluadvertiser.com
Preference is given to nonprofit organizations and special recreational events. Participation fees and deadlines must be included. Fax your information to (808) 525-5491. Remember to include names, dates, deadlines, telephone contact numbers and fees. |
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