Only Francis I‘i Brown — maybe the greatest Hawaii golfer ever — has three-peated since the Manoa Cup moved to a match-play format in 1927. That was 80 years ago.
David Fink could make it happen again next week.
The Oregon State junior won the 102nd and 103rd Manoa Cups. He thrashed his home course — Oahu Country Club — and most of his opponents to win in 2010, opening with a 65 in qualifying. Last year he willed his way to the Cup, winning four of his matches 1 up and going 35 holes to hold off 15-year-old John Oda in the final.
Fink is finishing off classes in digital communications (his major), geoscience and Spanish this week in Corvallis, Ore. He flies home Sunday and plans to play a relaxing practice round Monday evening, after three women and 96 men try to qualify for the other 63 slots.
104TH ANNUAL MANOA CUP
» What: Hawaii State Amateur Match Play Championship
» When: Qualifying (top 63) from 6:45 a.m. Monday. First three rounds from 7 a.m., Tuesday, Wednesday and next Thursday. Quarterfinals from 7 a.m. June 15 and semifinals from noon June 15. Final, scheduled for 36 holes, begins at 7 a.m. June 16
» Where: Oahu Country Club (Par 35-36–71, 6,041 yards)
» Defending champion: David Fink (No. 1 seed) |
Fink will be seeded No. 1. He is only the 11th to successfully defend a Manoa Cup since Austin White won the first two in 1907 and ’08. Brown did it twice, winning four straight when it was still stroke play from 1920 to 1923 and three more in match play from 1930-32. He won nine in all, along with the 1929 All-Japan Amateur and 1930 California Amateur. For good measure, he set the St. Andrews course record in 1924 with a 67 in a British Amateur practice round.
Fink hasn’t followed Hawaii golf history closely, but vividly remembers growing up at OCC in awe of the Manoa Cup.
“I was thinking about Manoa Cup yesterday hitting balls on the range,” the 2009 ‘Iolani graduate said over the phone from Oregon. “How, later on in life, I would look back at it. The most prestigious tournament I want to play is The Masters, but Manoa Cup will always be No. 1. I remember seeing the Manoa Cup banner before I even played in it. I always wanted to be part of it and play in it. It was always really prestigious, a great experience.
“I was talking to a buddy from Stanford (David Chung) who played The Masters two years ago. He said his overall experience at The Masters was similar to my first couple of years at Manoa Cup. He said you are in awe of all the people playing around you and the course is always in great shape. No matter how old I get, I’ll always remember the Manoa Cup. It will always be part of my life.”
Fink, 21, redshirted his first year at OSU and has two years of eligibility left. He set the freshman scoring record in 2010 (72.88), but injured his left hand early this season on a soggy Oregon golf course — go figure — and played just seven events. He ended his year with a 37th at the Pac-12 Championship and 48th at the Stanford Regional.
“I still have pain everyday,” he says. “I learned how to warm up so when I’m playing I’m not in pain. It took me two or three months to get over it, took a lot out of my season. This summer I’m looking to get back in the swing and get my confidence back.”
He has done it before, exactly a year ago. He drew inspiration from Manoa Cup for his Pac-12 performance, finding the “fighting desire” to persevere and play well. Fink figures that will happen a lot in his life.
“For me, when I’m down or don’t have a good tournament, I really remember back to days when I was doing well,” he said. “Cherishing the moment for me … at times like this when I’m building back to tournament mode I look back to times like last year and build from what I did then.”
Among those in Monday’squalifyingroundare Alina Ching, Monique Ishikawa and Marissa Chow and former champions Brandan Kop and Jonathan Ota. John Oda, who was the youngest finalist in history last year, is playing on the mainland.
