Okita dedicates Manoa Cup victory to his late grandfather

Andy Okita wasn’t able to attend a golf outing in honor of his grandfather on Saturday.

Safe to say, he did George Okita proud anyway.

While family members gathered at Royal Hawaiian Golf Club in Maunawili, Andy was occupied on the other side of the Pali playing in the championship match of the 109th Manoa Cup.

Okita carded 12 birdies in two tours of Oahu Country Club and never trailed in a 6-and-4 win over Punahou senior Evan Kawai to capture the state amateur match-play championship.

“He means a lot to me and I’m just glad I was able to do it,” Okita said of his grandfather, who died on March 29 at age 94. “I wanted to do it for him, so that kept me focused on every shot.”

The win was also an early Father’s Day present for Glenn Okita, who started taking Andy out to Makalena and Leilehua golf courses around the time the youngster entered kindergarten. At times, three generations shared a day on the course, with George joining the group.

“When I was younger he used to come out with us, but after a while he couldn’t come out because he just got way too tired,” said Andy, who dedicated the win to his grandfather during the awards ceremony. “It was kind of a bummer, but I loved those moments with him. They’ll always be in my mind.”

Saturday will no doubt be another enduring memory after winning the Hawaii State Golf Association’s longest running event.

Okita, 22, entered the Manoa Cup each of the past seven years with Glenn as his caddie and reached the round of 16 twice. He broke through that barrier on Thursday and rallied to win tight quarterfinal and semifinal matches on Friday.

He ditched a swing change he’d made prior to an 11th-place finish at the Hickam Invitational last month. Okita’s old swing carried him through the six-day run.

“I was just pull-hooking everything off the tee, off my iron shots,” Okita said of his struggles at Hickam. “I was like I should just go back to doing what I was doing earlier this year and it worked this tournament.”

Okita partnered with Justin Taparra to win the Francis I’i Brown Four Ball Tournament in early May and earned a solo title thanks in part to his wedge play.

Okita was 5 up with six holes to play and landed his third shot on the par-5 13th 3 feet from the cup. Kawai curled in a 20-footer for birdie to extend the match, but Okita all but ended it on No. 14 when a 56-degree wedge from 75 yards out rolled up to within a foot of the hole.

“I try to practice that a lot, those partial wedge shots,” Okita said. “Especially for this course, I know it would come in handy.”

When Kawai’s shot went well past the pin, he conceded Okita’s birdie to end the match.

Kawai hiked the course carrying his own bag throughout the week and closed to 1 down twice in the second 18. But both times Okita answered with birdies on the par-5 second hole and the par-3 seventh to again extend the lead.

“I was a little frustrated, because every time I would make birdie, he would make birdie. Every time I would win a hole, he would win a hole,” Kawai said. “He just played super solid. That’s how a Manoa Cup champ plays.”

Kawai followed up last year’s quarterfinal berth with his deepest run in five Manoa Cup appearances. He’ll try to build on the momentum in the Hawaii State Junior Golf Association’s King Auto Group 13-18 State Championship starting Tuesday at Hokulia.

“I’m ready for it now, but I need to fix a few things,” Kawai said. “I didn’t hit the ball as well as I wanted, shot shape wasn’t the best, putting wasn’t the best, but mentally I’m in a good spot, so I know what I need to work on for next week and for the future.”

But the moment belonged to Okita, who was initiated into the fraternity of Manoa Cup champions by being tossed into the OCC pool by fellow winners David Ishii (1977), Brandan Kop (1983, ’86, ’97, ’98), Dick Sieradzki (1990), Kurt Nino (2007), Matthew Ma (2012) and Tyler Ota (2015).

“I can’t believe it,” Okita said. “I feel like I’m dreaming right now.”