Palmer helped Hawaii grow its game

As isolated as we are, Arnold Palmer still had a huge impact on golf in Hawaii.

Palmer, who died last weekend at 87, brought golf to the masses with his audacious game and gift for treating everyone like they were the only one in the room — or on a crowded fairway.

In the 1960s, he and Jack Nicklaus came over to celebrate the start of “lava golf” in a televised exhibition with Gary Player at Mauna Kea.

Hawaii Golf Hall of Famer Morgan Fottrell also brought them in for the Canada Cup to introduce the Royal Lahaina — now Royal Ka’anapali — Golf Course on Maui. That event forced the infant resort to accelerate its growth, mostly because of Palmer’s immense popularity.

He played in 17 Hawaiian Opens and was a regular in Champions Tour events here as well as Senior Skins. In between, he helped design Kapalua Bay and Turtle Bay’s Arnold Palmer Course, where he married Kathleen “Kit” Gawthrop in 2005.

Palmer’s biggest paycheck came in 1990 at the first Senior Skins Game at Mauni Lani. It was $240,000 — $7,000 more than he made in his best year on the PGA Tour.

Palmer won again in 1992 and ’93 and played nearly every year until 2009.

Wendy’s took over as title sponsor in 2004 and the winner got a year’s worth of free Old Fashioned Hamburgers, along with $400,000.

Palmer, 74, missed a 10-foot putt on the final hole that would have won it.

“You’ll probably play another 10 years now,” Nicklaus told Palmer that day.

Palmer grinned.

“I wanted to make that putt and then think about it,” he said.

Schremmer getting ready to defend her title

Patty Schremmer is warming up for defense of her State Stroke Play Championship by playing — and beating — some of the best female amateurs in the country.

Nearly a year ago Schremmer, mother to three very competitive surfing daughters, won the inaugural Hawaii State Women’s Golf Association members-only title.

The second installment is next month at Mid-Pacific Country Club. She got ready by reaching the semifinals of the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship two weeks ago in Erie, Pa. She rallied from a 3-down deficit to defeat four-time champion Meghan Stasi in the quarterfinals of her first Mid-Amateur, sinking an 18-foot birdie putt from just off the 18th green to win.

Schremmer, 51, fell to 28-year-old Julia Potter in the semis, 4 and 3. Potter won her second Mid-Am championship the next day.

The Mid-Am is open to amateurs 25 and older. Last week, Schremmer tied for ninth in the 36-hole qualifying of the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, in Wellesley, Mass. She lost in the first round of match play, 1-up, to Florida’s Lin Culver.

Jang a winner at Women’s Senior Championship

Mira Jang won the 38th annual Hawaii State Women’s Golf Association Senior Championship on Monday at Leilehua.

Jang, whose daughter Anna won a state high school championship, fired a 4-over-par 76. Overall low-net winner was 79-year-old Kula Akiu, with a 64.

There were two 93-year-olds in the field — Elaine Lee and Margaret Miyasaki — and another 10 in the field were in their 80s.

Maxine Davis won the championship flight — the oldest age group in an event that flights by age — with a 93. Other low-gross flight winners were Thelma Kimura (94), defending champion Bev Kim (82), Mona Kim (78) and Yindi Fowler (80).

Matsueda comes in third at Masters event

Honolulu’s Teal Matsueda came closest to qualifying for the Drive, Chip and Putt finals at next year’s Masters after placing third at the Riviera Country Club regional in California on Saturday.

Matsueda collected 95 points — 41 for putting, 31 for chipping and 23 for driving — to earn one of two alternate positions in the girls’ 10-11 age division. Haiku’s Maile Won was sixth, with 83 points, and Mililani’s Shelby Keolanui took fourth in the 12-13 age division with 99 points.

Ian Chapital (95), from Lahaina, was fourth in boys 10-11 and Mililani’s Se Jun Jung (122) took fifth in 14-15. Hilo’s Aukahi Lapera, Kapolei’s Bailey Sutter and Kaneohe’s Dane Watanabe all finished sixth in their age divisions.

Short putts

>> The Oahu Junior Golf Association will have an OJGA Alumni/Junior Golf Tournament Nov. 6, at Olomana Golf Links. Entry deadline is Oct. 21 and the format is a two-person team scramble with teams chosen by blind draw. Cost is $75 for alumni and $30 for juniors, which includes golf and dinner.

Alumni can come from the OJGA or Big Island, Maui, Kauai or Hawaii State Junior golf associations. For more information, visit oahujuniorgolf@gmail.com.

>> Kahului’s Reese Guzman won consecutive AJGA tournaments on the mainland this summer. She finished at 6 under par in the Mill Creek Foundation Junior All-Star, then went on to win the Coca-Cola Junior Championship, shooting a tournament total of even par.