Kauai’s corner of the Hawaii Golf Hall of Fame is growing. Guy Yamamoto will be the 68th person inducted at next month’s Ho’olaulea, a golf celebration for all involved in the Hawaii game.

Yamamoto’s greatest claim to golf fame came when he captured the 1994 U.S. Public Links Championship in Montana. Here, he might be better known for a stellar amateur resume that includes two Manoa Cups and three Hawaiian Open appearances, and an amiable personality that has made him just as successful off the course as a golf operations manager.

He never pictured this growing up in Lihue. When Yamamoto was 13, Chica Ishii — father of 2006 inductee David Ishii –got him started at Wailua Muni, home to more than its share of Hawaii’s greatest golfers.

"I rented some clubs and was hitting on the range and he said, ‘Today we’ve got a tournament,’ " recalled Yamamoto, who had no choice but to enter. "I didn’t play well. Whoever I played with, my apologies. I must have shot 150. I remember it being tough, but for some reason, it interested me."

Yamamoto’s golf history goes far beyond wins. He has vivid memories of baseball Hall of Famer Johnny Bench asking about his family at the 1992 national publinx, a few days after Hurricane Iniki.

One time, Yamamoto cut school –with permission — to watch Arnold Palmer and Chi Chi Rodriguez play an exhibition at Kauai Surf. He played a hole with Seve Ballesteros and also attended the amateur dinner with Tiger Woods at the 1995 Masters, which always invites the previous year’s Public Links champion to play.

His fascination with U.S. Public Links, originally considered the "blue-collar" championship, began in 1975 when Wailua first hosted. Yamamoto caddied and watched his first "real tournament," when Randy Barenaba beat Allan Yamamoto in an all-Hawaii final. Nearly 20 years later, the 32-year-old beat UNLV sophomore Chris Riley in the final, 1-up on the 37th hole.

"Every time I showed up on the tee, there was a kid with a college bag playing me,” Yamamoto once said. "I didn’t feel that old. But everyone asked me how old I was and then they said ‘Wow’ when I told them."

Riley was the third guy who would go on to win a PGA Tour event that Yamamoto beat that week, after Matt Gogel and Notah Begay. He was the fourth from Hawaii to win the coveted amateur title, but the first from Kauai. In 2006, Casey Watabu joined him.

The island has always produced exceptional players, in part because Wailua has been so good to and for juniors and, in larger part, because so many have been so willing to help.

After Yamamoto got hooked he would spend every non-school day at the course, checking in at 7:30 a.m. to play the back nine while "the regulars" went off the front. He and buddies Jonathan Ota, Eric Nishimoto and Bill Balfour — all but Balfour were on the 1979 Kauai High team that shocked the state and won the high school championship — would get a drink after nine holes and work on their short game until lunch.

"I had an allowance so I could either eat lunch or hit range balls," Yamamoto said. "I would eat lunch."

About 12:30, the boys would go off the first tee and play 18 more, walking along the trees to find balls they could hit at the range later.

David Ishii was away at college, where he would win an NCAA title with Houston. But in the summer he came home and played with the future Red Raiders.

"Here you are with someone who won the All-American Tournament as a freshman and a few months later he is hacking around with us kids," Yamamoto recalled. "I’ll always remember those summers. We always looked forward to playing with him, but at the same time we weren’t looking forward to it because we had to play all the way back on Wailua’s blue tees. David would say you’ve got to play here if you want to get good."

Yamamoto would get good. He also got married to wife Terry in 1989. Son Marcus could be playing for Pearl City soon and another son, Micah, is a Mid-Pacific freshman with game. Their father, still the best player in the house for now, has never regretted his decision to pass on a professional career.

"When I finished college golf (at Hawaii) I was nowhere near somebody like Greg (Meyer) when he finished," Yamamoto said. "I’m not sure if I just had a sense of reality or what, but I knew that I couldn’t beat a bunch of guys in Hawaii in 1984, so how could I even attempt to go out and earn a living? At that point I knew my path would be to earn a living the regular way."

He has been blessed to make it with the lush grass just on the other side of his office wall.

"I made the most out of my opportunities as an amateur, I think," Yamamoto said. "If you were there that first day you would never imagine me walking through the doors of the Hall.

"For someone reluctant to play golf at first and now to have it be such a big part of my life … golf has been very kind to me. I’m very fortunate to play. For sure I would never have been a tennis player at Wimbledon or make the World Series like Shane (Victorino) or Lenny (Sakata). I was lucky to tell David’s dad I would try golf."