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The Rainbow Warriors are treating the state’s ultimate individual event like a team thing.
University of Hawaii men’s golfers Joshua Hayashida and Dane Watanabe made quick work of their opponents in the first round of the 117th Manoa Cup at Oahu Country Club on Tuesday, rushing to get off the course only to be in an equal hurry to get to the tee box to cheer on a friend.
They are the only two current Rainbow Warriors in the tournament, but the brackets are littered with former ’Bows like Zachary Sagayaga, who reached the final four in the event the past two years while still competing for the school.
“We are all rooting each other on,” Watanabe said. “It’s good because we are all in different brackets and won’t have to play each other (until the semifinals) if we keep winning. It makes it more fun. They are all my teammates and friends.”
Hayashida, a two-time champion and one of only two past winners in the field, played Alan Wong in the round of 64 for the second straight year and beat his friendly foe 6-up with a par on the 14th hole after topping him 5&3 last year. Hayashida had a 14-match winning streak in the event end to Peter Jung in the round of 16 last year, and with Jung, defending champion Remington Hirano and others not in the field he is probably in the uncomfortable position of being the favorite.
“Just being a local kid and growing up watching it and playing since I was 14, it’s so special,” Hayashida said. “I went through some ups and downs as a teenager playing against the older guys and now I am one of those guys. It’s just a great event you can share with friends.”
The early finish allowed him to rest his legs over the final four holes and Watanabe got an even longer break by dispatching Ryce Maddox Aoki in 11 holes after winning each of the first nine. The time off the links could come in handy on Friday or Saturday after a full week of walking the ancient course’s rolling hills.
“It’s obviously really nice if it ends early,” Watanabe said while clutching his water bottle and trying to remember to sip with all of the excitement around him. “You get to rest some more and recover and stay hydrated because if you keep winning it can become a really long week. The rest and recovery is really important.”
Volleyball Olympian and OCC member Kawika Shoji was all smiles in his return to tournament golf, grinning and kissing babies while falling to Kaho‘okele Helm 4&3. Four-time champion Brandon Kop made it through his 121st round in the event, beating Jordan Nakamura 5&4 to improve to 84-37 all-time in the event dating back to 1978. Kop will play No. 7 seed Coel Berardy in the second round.
Isaac Jaffurs, who reached the final in 2014, fell to Ryan Takeshita and 2018 semifinalist Hunter Hughes lost a battle 3&1 to Dylan Sakasegawa.
Hayashida will play Chance Wilson in the second round and Watanabe gets Maximus Waki, who upset Dean Pagliarini. Top seed Spencer Shishido gets Tensuke Sakurai after a rare bye and fellow medalist Drew Tom faces Caleb Ito after beating Paul Loui 7&5.
The second bracket of the women’s tournament fell into shambles with Samantha Monroe upsetting 2024 champion Jasmine Wong 4&2 and Paige Sur taking out No. 7 seed Lynea Kelsey 2&1.
Another upset on the women’s side came from Kady Matsumoto, who beat fellow Mililani resident Mia Nakaoka 2&1 with a bogey on 16 to the No. 4 seed’s double.
Play resumes today with top seed Shishido against Sakurai at 7 a.m. and favorite Ava Cepeda against Brooke Asao at 9:24 in the women’s quarterfinals.
Continue reading...
University of Hawaii men’s golfers Joshua Hayashida and Dane Watanabe made quick work of their opponents in the first round of the 117th Manoa Cup at Oahu Country Club on Tuesday, rushing to get off the course only to be in an equal hurry to get to the tee box to cheer on a friend.
They are the only two current Rainbow Warriors in the tournament, but the brackets are littered with former ’Bows like Zachary Sagayaga, who reached the final four in the event the past two years while still competing for the school.
“We are all rooting each other on,” Watanabe said. “It’s good because we are all in different brackets and won’t have to play each other (until the semifinals) if we keep winning. It makes it more fun. They are all my teammates and friends.”
Hayashida, a two-time champion and one of only two past winners in the field, played Alan Wong in the round of 64 for the second straight year and beat his friendly foe 6-up with a par on the 14th hole after topping him 5&3 last year. Hayashida had a 14-match winning streak in the event end to Peter Jung in the round of 16 last year, and with Jung, defending champion Remington Hirano and others not in the field he is probably in the uncomfortable position of being the favorite.
“Just being a local kid and growing up watching it and playing since I was 14, it’s so special,” Hayashida said. “I went through some ups and downs as a teenager playing against the older guys and now I am one of those guys. It’s just a great event you can share with friends.”
The early finish allowed him to rest his legs over the final four holes and Watanabe got an even longer break by dispatching Ryce Maddox Aoki in 11 holes after winning each of the first nine. The time off the links could come in handy on Friday or Saturday after a full week of walking the ancient course’s rolling hills.
“It’s obviously really nice if it ends early,” Watanabe said while clutching his water bottle and trying to remember to sip with all of the excitement around him. “You get to rest some more and recover and stay hydrated because if you keep winning it can become a really long week. The rest and recovery is really important.”
Volleyball Olympian and OCC member Kawika Shoji was all smiles in his return to tournament golf, grinning and kissing babies while falling to Kaho‘okele Helm 4&3. Four-time champion Brandon Kop made it through his 121st round in the event, beating Jordan Nakamura 5&4 to improve to 84-37 all-time in the event dating back to 1978. Kop will play No. 7 seed Coel Berardy in the second round.
Isaac Jaffurs, who reached the final in 2014, fell to Ryan Takeshita and 2018 semifinalist Hunter Hughes lost a battle 3&1 to Dylan Sakasegawa.
Hayashida will play Chance Wilson in the second round and Watanabe gets Maximus Waki, who upset Dean Pagliarini. Top seed Spencer Shishido gets Tensuke Sakurai after a rare bye and fellow medalist Drew Tom faces Caleb Ito after beating Paul Loui 7&5.
The second bracket of the women’s tournament fell into shambles with Samantha Monroe upsetting 2024 champion Jasmine Wong 4&2 and Paige Sur taking out No. 7 seed Lynea Kelsey 2&1.
Another upset on the women’s side came from Kady Matsumoto, who beat fellow Mililani resident Mia Nakaoka 2&1 with a bogey on 16 to the No. 4 seed’s double.
Play resumes today with top seed Shishido against Sakurai at 7 a.m. and favorite Ava Cepeda against Brooke Asao at 9:24 in the women’s quarterfinals.
Continue reading...
