After an exceptionally soggy semifinal round, even by Oahu Country Club standards, Alina Ching asked Kacie Komoto a question rarely heard at a tournament as pressure-filled as the Hawaii State Women’s Golf Association Match Play Championship.
"Breakfast after the final?" Ching said to Komoto, as she turned to leave.
The OCC members, who played often and early together in their careers, meet for the title at 7 this morning, preferably in weather better than it was for Thursday. The sun made, maybe, three appearances for a total of, maybe, two minutes. The rest of the morning, which saw Komoto defeat Aiko Leong, 4 and 3, and Ching oust Sydney Maluenda, 6 and 5, was equal parts drizzle, driving rain and gusty wind.
In the midst of this, Ching, about to start her senior season at Pepperdine, was 1 under par. That included the three-putt bogey that closed out Maluenda, who also three-putted, on the 13th hole at the top of OCC.
Both players were allowed to move their balls on the green because casual water was in their putting line.
"It was definitely a mental thing today," said Maluenda, coming off wins at the Barbers Point (Ladies Flight) and Waialae Invitationals in the past week.
The Kapolei High graduate is heading into her sophomore season at George Fox, located about an hour outside Portland. She is somewhat used to the rain, but Thursday’s drenching was a bit much.
"I wasn’t prepared for it here," Maluenda said, then smiled.
She was the only non-OCC member in the semifinals, and the only one who did not go to Punahou. Ching and Komoto won two state team titles together. The defending match-play champ, about to begin her sophomore year at Northwestern, also won a state title with Leong in 2013.
Local knowledge was all but essential in the OCC downpour.
"I just tried to get it in the fairways, on the greens and hoped to three-putt," said Ching, who has played — and advanced — in three Manoa Cups, the men’s match play championship.
After earning first-team all-conference honors her first two years with the Waves, she was an honorable mention selection last season while going through swing changes. As those have come around, she has started focusing again on chipping and putting — "Much needed," she smiled — and hasn’t needed more than 13 holes in either of her wins this week.
Komoto beat 2012 champ Cassy Isagawa in last year’s final and also won the 2009 state stroke play and 2012 state high school individual title — both in dry weather.
"When it’s like this, you just have to play it safe," she said. "You can’t make things too complicated because the rain will already do that."
Komoto has also been working on her swing this summer, and concentrating on putting for this tournament. She was 2-over par and 1 down after five holes Thursday, then won the next three holes.
Leong, not yet old enough to drive a golf cart, hung in and cut her deficit in half with par at the 11th.
"She did a good job of keeping a level head in the rain," Komoto said, "not getting frazzled."
Komoto parred the next four holes, winning the last three to end it and get a breakfast invitation from Ching.
"My goal tomorrow will be the same as today — keep it simple, don’t make anything hard for myself," said Komoto, who was 5 under in last year’s final. "Today I made a couple stupid mistakes so I have to get rid of those."
