KA‘ANAPALI, Maui » Kalena Preus and his Punahou teammates put on a brilliant finishing kick Wednesday to run away with the David S. Ishii Foundation/HHSAA Boys Golf Championship, better known by the kids as "Uncle David’s Tournament."

Preus won his first individual state championship in his last try, firing a final-round 4-under-par 67 at Royal Ka‘anapali. His round was highlighted by an eagle on the 14th hole.

Going into the 14th, Preus, first-round leader PJ Samiere (Punahou) and defending champion John Oda (Moanalua) shared first at 4 under.

The eagle — he drove the 275-yard par-4 and drained a 10-foot putt from the fringe — gave Preus a cushion, and an abundance of confidence.

"The eagle put me in gear," Preus said. "It told me that we can close this out as a team. As an individual, I didn’t even know. Winning as an individual was a bonus. When I made that eagle I knew for the team it would help out a lot. A two-shot swing on that hole — I was playing with another Moanalua guy — was a big swing for sure."

In the final group a few minutes back, Samiere and Oda created an even larger comfort zone for Preus with a pair of bogeys apiece coming in.

Preus played the final six holes in 3 under, including a bogey. He punctuated his biggest win with an 18-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole, followed by a heartfelt scream.

Preus flashed back to the 20-foot birdie putt he sank on the final hole two years ago that won a team title for Punahou. Turns out, after a rocky start, the Buffanblu didn’t need his heroics this time.

Punahou won its fourth team title in six years by 19 shots over defending champion Moanalua. The Buffanblu closed with a 2-under-par 282 and played Ka‘anapali in 7-under 561 over two days.

Na Menehune, who cut their deficit to single digits midway, could not keep up.

Punahou senior Zachary Braunthal (71—145), headed to the University of Hawaii, played the back in 2 under and finished sixth. Ryan Lloyd, another senior, played the final eight holes in 1 under and closed 74—145. Freshman Kyle Suppa (70—147) drained five straight birdies on the back nine to climb into eighth.

Then there was Preus. At the 11th, coach Ed Kageyama asked his most celebrated senior what he was waiting for.

Preus didn’t understand. And then he did.

"I just said when are you going to go?" Kageyama recalled. "Just put your foot on the pedal and press the gas and go.

"On the last seven holes he really turned it on when he needed to. He has that second gear. He needs to be able to identify when to do it."

Preus will have an opportunity over the next four years at the University of Texas. Oda has orally committed to UNLV. He finished four back in second at 72—140 and has another year left. So does Samiere (76—141), who was third.

Oda was one of the first to congratulate Preus when it was over. Then the two-time State Amateur champ congratulated Kageyama, who won another girls championship with Punahou last week and took over the boys program this year.

The strategy is different.

"The girls are really concerned about how the others are doing," Kageyama said. "They really understand the team aspect. When you want to motivate them you tell them about the team. On the boys side, they are team-oriented, but you motivate them more through their own individual games."

Mid-Pacific Institute senior Skye Inakoshi (75—143) held on for fourth. He will join Braunthal at UH next fall, along with Kauai High’s Pono Tokioka. Kamehameha’s Spencer Dunaway (68—144) was fifth, with the only other score in the 60s. He and Donny Hopoi (72—147) helped the Warriors (301—616) claim third, a shot ahead of Mid-Pac.

Moanalua freshman Kyosuke Hara (71—148) and Shawn Lu (72—149) took 10th and 11th.