Ho, Moore set to battle at U.S. Open of Surfing
Hawaii’s Coco Ho and Carissa Moore will square off in the U.S. Open of Surfing quarterfinals today in Huntington Beach, Calif.
Moore, 20, defeated defending event champion Lakey Peterson, 19, in the fourth round on Friday with 14.74 points to Peterson’s 13.87.
Maui’s Granger Larsen advanced in the men’s competition and will challenge Australia’s Matt Banting in the Round of 16 today.
Kauai’s Alana Blanchard fell to 21-year-old Pauline Ado of France in Round 4 on Friday, while Jadson Andre defeated Hawaii’s Sebastian Zietz in the men’s Round of 24.
Punahou’s Samiere wins, then falls in quarterfinal
Kailua’s PJ Samiere outlasted two weather delays, darkness and Oklahoma’s Nick Heinen, finally winning their U.S. Boys’ Junior Championship match Friday morning, 3 and 1.
Samiere and Heinen were tied after 14 holes Thursday when their Round of 16 match was called because of darkness, in Truckee, Calif. The Punahou senior eagled the 15th and 16th Friday, then birdied the par-3 17th to win.
Playing in his second USGA event, Samiere was ousted in the quarterfinal by Scottie Scheffler, 3 and 2. Scheffler, from Dallas, had six birdies. He is No. 34 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings and will join Kalena Preus, Samiere’s high school teammate, at the University of Texas in the fall.
In other golf news:
» Two-time Manoa Cup champion David Fink tied for fifth at the 47th Pacific Coast Amateur at Capilano Golf & Country Club in West Vancouver, Canada. Fink won the event last year.
He closed with a 1-over-par 71 for a four-day total of 278 — six shots out of first. Fink was one of eight players to shoot under par. ‘Iolani graduate Lorens Chan (76—290) tied for 35th.
» State Women’s Match Play champion Kacie Komoto fired a 4-over-par 75 to earn a share of 27th place at the 100th Royale Cup Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship, in Beleoil, Quebec. Komoto finished at 298 and Kauai’s Kelli Oride (73) at 300. The winner was Ontario’s Brooke Henderson, at 66—275.
» Honolulu’s Stephanie Kono opened with a 5-over-par 76 in the Symetra Tour’s Credit Union Classic, in Syracuse, N.Y. The leader is P.K. Kongkraphan, at 66.
» Honolulu’s Kyle Suppa lost a playoff Wednesday in the American Junior Golf Association Junior All-Star at Talbot, at Easton, Md.
Suppa fired a 2-under-par 70 in Thursday’s final round, tying Virginia’s Sam Jung (79) at 216 and forcing the playoff. Both golfers went par, bogey, par before Jung sank a 3-foot birdie putt on the fourth extra hole.
The event had 72 boys and 24 girls, ages 12-15, from 22 states and three countries. Honolulu’s Andrew Chin (74—227) tied for 26th.
Ex-UH diver Nero takes 31st in Barcelona
Former Rainbow Wahine diver Daniella Nero finished 31st out of 43 competitors Friday in the preliminaries of the 3-meter springboard at the FINA World Championships, in Barcelona.
Earlier in the week Nero, competing for Sweden, advanced to the final round on the 1 meter after finishing 12th in the opening round. She also finished 12th in the competition.
