On the surface, David Ishii‘s first-round score at the Pacific Links Hawaii Championship wasn’t all that pretty.
But the numbers don’t totally reflect Ishii’s gritty performance Friday at Kapolei Golf Course.
Ishii felt a twinge in his lower back during a tournament in Japan last week and was lining up his putt on the first green on Friday when the muscle really locked up.
He spent the rest of the round working through the discomfort, sometimes having to step back from a shot after a practice swing, and he had to take a knee after his club stuck in the rough on a shot on the seventh hole.
But he managed to grind through all 18 holes, closing with a 5-over-par 77.
"I was just trying to finish," said Ishii. "Maybe I can get it worked on and I can feel better tomorrow."
Ishii was 5 over through eight holes, then shot even par on the back nine, twice chipping in for birdie.
The first came on No. 13, when he chipped his third shot between two palm trees and onto the green. The ball landed about 10 feet from the hole and rolled in.
On No. 17, his approach was short of the green, but he got another chip to roll up and disappear into the cup.
"I figured if I can break 40 on the back nine that’s good," Ishii said. "I did better than that, so I was kind of happy."
Ishii is scheduled to tee off at 11 a.m. today with Dave Eichelberger and Isao Aoki.
For a while, it didn’t look like Ishii would make it through Friday’s round, much less make plans for today.
He tried to stretch his back between shots, and his caddy, Chad Yawata, helped massage the problem area. But Ishii said the thought of calling his round early wasn’t an option.
"They gave me a sponsor’s exemption; I cannot quit," Ishii said. "Even if I shoot 90, I gotta try to finish. If I cannot walk that’s a different thing. Even with that you still can ride the cart."
Kevin Hayashi didn’t have that problem. Among the five local golfers, he had the best finish at even-par 72.
"I had some problems with my ball-striking early on, but I got that figured out," Hayashi said. "The greens are really fast and hard. That’s the big difference between playing in a local event and playing in something like this. I had a lot of fun."
The other three golfers with local ties are former Kailua resident Scott Simpson (75), Eichelberger (76) and Casey Nakama (81).
Senior family having fun
Peter Senior‘s family joined him at the last event in Seattle.
In the two weeks since, the five Australians have traveled to Denver and South Dakota, to see Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse and Sioux Falls, and Minneapolis — "so the girls could shop," he said.
Since arriving in Hawaii, they have "done everything," including "riding horses and swimming with the sharks. … It’s been fantastic."
Inside the numbers
Friday’s scoring average was 72.037. There were 15 rounds in the 60s. Hole No. 13 was the most difficult with a scoring average of 4.272. There were five birdies, 51 pars, 24 bogeys and one triple bogey by Kirk Triplett.
The easiest hole was the par-5 17th with a scoring average of 4.383. There were three eagles and 45 birdies.
Everyone cashes a check
The winner this week gets $270,000 from the $1.8 million purse. Last place is worth $738 and 40th place, in the field of 81, gets $9,180. There is no cut.
