Mahalo for supporting Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Enjoy this free story!
Punahou alum Parker McLachlin warmed up for the final stage of tour qualifying by finishing fourth at the TaylorMade Pebble Beach Invitational Sunday in California.
McLachlin charged into third after a third-round 67 at Spanish Bay on Saturday. He closed with 69 at Pebble Beach to finish at 7-under-par 281.
That was three shots behind Scott McCarron, who birdied the final hole to win by one over Kevin Sutherland. Both play on the Champions Tour.
The $300,000 event began in 1972 and features players from all the professional tours, including the LPGA. Previous winners include Juli Inkster, Nick Watney, Johnny Miller and Tom Lehman.
McLachlin won on the PGA Tour in 2008, but lost his playing privileges. He took sixth at this month’s second stage qualifying event in Beaumont, Calif., finishing at 13 under. The top 19 advanced to the final stage, which is Dec. 8-11 in Florida. All golfers in that tournament are assured of at least conditional status on the 2017 Web.com Tour.
Hawaii’s Tadd Fujikawa and Nick Mason did not advance at the second stage in Mobile, Ala. Fujikawa, a Moanalua graduate who was the youngest ever to qualify for the U.S. Open, shot even par in the final round to end up at 9 under and miss by two shots.
Mason was another shot back. The Leilehua graduate won his third Hawaii State Open title last December, beating McLachlin in a playoff.
Locals miss cut at senior event
Hawaii’s Kevin Hayashi, Don Hurter, Andrew Feldmann and Lance Taketa missed the cut at last week’s Senior PGA Professional Championship at PGA Golf Club Florida.
Utah’s Steve Schneiter, who plays often in Hawaii tournaments, drained a 15-foot par putt on the final hole to win by one and become the first PGA member to claim a PGA Professional Championship (1995) and a Senior PGA Professional Championship.
Juniors don’t score well in Japan
Japan proved to be a tough site for Hawaii’s junior golfers at this month’s ninth annual HSJGA Asia-Pacific Junior Cup.
The Ryder Cup-style tournament was played outside Hawaii for the first time, taking place in Miyazaki. The home team won, 22.5 to 9.5, scoring half their points in the final day’s 16 singles matches.
The only Hawaii winners in singles were Remington Hirano, Justin Arcano, Andrew Otani and Trevor Arashiro. Malia Nam won the last hole to halve her match.
Japan, whose national junior champions qualify for the team, leads the Cup series, 7-2.
Golf Digest honors Hawaii instructors
Honolulu Country Club’s Kyle Kunioka and Ko Olina’s Kevin Shimomura are among the 100 instructors 40 and under named Golf Digest’s Best Young Teachers in America.
Kunioka is 31 and Shimomura a year older.
74