Els will return to Hawaii

It’s only August and the 2013 Hyundai Tournament of Champions can all but confirm the return of one of Hawaii’s favorite golfers.

Ernie Els’ victory in the British Open qualifies him for the TOC, which opens the PGA Tour year at Kapalua’s Plantation Course, Jan. 4-7. Els overcame Adam Scott to claim his fourth major championship.

Els won in 2003 at Kapalua, setting the scoring record of 31-under-par 261. He lost a memorable playoff with Tiger Woods in 2000, one of six top-10 finishes. Els had only qualified twice since 2005 — the last year Woods came to Maui.

Tickets are on sale at pgatour.com or by calling 808-665-9160. Pro-am spots are also available.

The Thursday practice round is free, with the first round on a Friday. For the second year in a row, the tournament will finish on Monday of Sony Open in Hawaii week. Any day tickets are $15 and a weekly ticket is $40.

Daily clubhouse tickets will be $30, with a weekly clubhouse option for $75. Fans 18 and under are free with a ticketed adult.

Ching falls in Cleveland

Honolulu’s Alina Ching lost her opening-round match Wednesday in the 112th U.S. Women’s Amateur, at The Country Club in Cleveland. Ching, seeded ninth, fell to Maryland’s Maia Schechter 4 and 3.

Ching led just once, going 1 up with par at the third. Schecter birdied the next hole to tie it and the golfers were all square at the turn. Ching double-bogeyed the 10th and lost to birdie on the next hole. Bogeys on the 14th and 15th ended it.

Big golf day coming

Three Hawaii golf courses managed by Billy Casper Golf will be part of the second annual "World’s Largest Golf Outing" on Monday. The event benefits the Wounded Warrior Project and is run simultaneously at more than 100 courses in 24 states.

Bay View will feature a 7:30 a.m. shotgun tournament, with a $25 fee. Ka‘anapali has an 8 a.m. shotgun, which is $99 for visitors and $50 for Ka‘anapali club members. Puakea has a 1 p.m. shotgun for $45.

Registration is at worldslargestgolfouting.com.

Chiarella wins by 3

Maui amateur Alex Chiarella won last weekend’s Maui Open, at the Dunes at Maui Lani. Chiarella is a two-time Maui Interscholastic League champ.

The Seabury Hall graduate, who will play for the University of San Diego this fall, opened with a 6-under-par 66 on Saturday. He fired 72 on Sunday to go wire-to-wire for a three-shot win.

Big Island pros Sean Maekawa (71—141) and Max Bonk (76—143) took second and third. Sam Cyr (73—144) tied for fourth with Jake Grodzinsky.

Baldwin graduate Cassy Isagawa (81—158) tied for 20th — a shot ahead of former Olympic weightlifter Vernon Patao. Isagawa, a sophomore at Oregon, won the State Women’s Match Play and was second in Stroke Play this summer. University of Hawaii junior Liana Otake (87—167), from Kahului, was 37th.

Flight winners were Rob Madow (A), Kirk Nelson (Senior) and Dean Prince (Super Senior).

OCC plans tournament

Entries are available for the Oahu Country Club Women’s Invitational, a 36-hole Stableford scoring tournament Aug. 20-21. The tourney is open to amateur women 15 and older with a GHIN handicap index of 24.5 or less.

For information, call OCC head pro Andrew Feldmann at 595-32566, ext. 2.