Pros proud they defended Burns Cup

After 44 years there is no doubting the depth of the competitiveness in Hawaii’s annual Gov. John A. Burns Challenge Cup.

In our version of the Ryder Cup, presented by the Hawaii State Golf Association and Aloha Section PGA, Hawaii’s professional golfers take on our amateurs. The prize is pride only.

For 34 years, the pros pretty much had their way. In 2007, the amateurs turned it around with a glut of young talent and went on an eight-year winning streak.

Last year the pros, who have little to gain aside from bragging rights in a format they rarely play, pushed back to win big. A bit of that glut had now “aged” into their ranks.

They successfully defended their Cup on Tuesday, winning 13.5-10.5 with a late rush at Mid-Pacific Country Club. They now hold a 25-18-1 series advantage.

In the midst of the Cup’s normal maturing, one thing has become quietly clear. The pros are there for advice and to advise their amateur opponents, no matter how competitive this exhibition gets.

On the 18th tee Tuesday, Nanea pro Juan Rodriguez praised his opponent, University of Hawaii-Hilo’s Dalen Yamauchi, after his drive.

“That’s the swing I like right there,” Rodriguez encouraged. Moments later, Yamauchi stuck his approach shot within 3 feet to halve their match.

At the 17th green, a few carts full of pros and amateurs watched the decisive singles matches while in deep discussion of their various “stinger” shots.

These “opponents” are some of each other’s most trusted advisers, whether they are talking about technique or career aspirations. Often, both subjects are covered at Governor’s Cup.

“I played with Dean (Wilson) a few years back,” recalled Tyler Ota, the 2015 Manoa Cup champ who led the amateur points list this year. “He was really helpful, had a helpful eye. It depends on who you play with.”

TJ Kua turned pro in 2012, after winning a collegiate title at UH and the 2009 Manoa Cup and earning the amateur exemption into the 2010 Sony Open in Hawaii. This year’s 12 Burns Cup amateurs will play for that spot Monday at Waialae Country Club.

Kua has played for the pros the past few years, along with 20-somethings Jared Sawada and Corey Kozuma — the only two to win all three matches this week. Kua spoke at length about the importance of helping amateur opponent/friend Matt Ma on Monday when Ma’s game needed a tweak.

“This is probably more important for guys like Tyler and Matt than it is for us because they’ve got Monday coming up,” Kua said. “If Matt’s game is off, we’ve got to try and straighten him out.

“You want to beat the guy when he’s good, not when he’s bad. I know there’s some guys that might like it when a guy plays bad against them, but when it comes to us, we want to beat the guy when he is good.”

The amateurs were much more than good during their eight-year period of dominance. They still are, even with a team that no longer can field college players because of an NCAA decision.

This year, the team ranged from AJ Teraoka, who turns 16 Friday, to ageless (56) Hawaii Golf Hall of Famer Brandan Kop, who is older than anyone on the pro team. At least three amateurs are currently contemplating a pro career and Teraoka was one of four high school golfers, with seniors Jun Ho Won, Andrew Chin and Kengo Aoshima.

Those are the guys Kua, whose game blossomed in Manoa, wants to advise.

“For college we can help them out a lot,” he says. “There are some issues in college and you want to make sure you end up in the right place. You don’t want to just end up in a good place, you want the right place.

”You want to make sure you can play. I could have gone somewhere else, but I’d be fighting to play at No. 4 or 5. At UH, the coach told me right away I could probably play in every tournament. I got to play with the best players in the world. They are all the top 20 in the world now, which is ridiculous.”

They are also rich, which erases a major road block to playing on a pro tour. That is a subject Hawaii’s pros always bring up when an amateur broaches the subject.

“It’s so expensive,” says Waialae head pro Kevin Carll, the pros’ co-captain. “It’s also culture shock. Anyone going from Hawaii to the mainland is going to experience culture shock, going to small towns, staying in Motel 6, eating not the best meals in the world. It’s a grind. It’s not for everyone.”

Next week, it is not the amateurs’ main focus. That would be Monday, when a Sony spot is on the line. Kua says the 2010 Sony remains the highlight of his career and “probably the most fun I’ve had missing a cut.”

Ota can’t wait.

“It’s my biggest goal every year,” he says. “As an amateur, there is nothing better than to play in Sony.”

No one needs a pro to tell them that.