WAIKOLOA, Hawaii » After 50 years, Kamehameha finally has its medalist in the David S. Ishii Foundation/HHSAA Boys State High School Golf Championship.
Spencer Dunaway’s game and grace made it worth the wait Friday.
The Kamehameha senior shook off last year’s disappointment with a remarkably composed performance at the Waikoloa Kings’ Course. He went into the final round in a four-way tie for first, but broke away with a 3-under-par 69.
Dunaway called it "something special" and was almost grateful not to have the lead going in.
"It took some of the pressure off," he said. "That’s hard when you have to sleep on a lead. Last night I didn’t have that pressure because those guys were with me. In my mind I wasn’t leading, I just thought today was a one-day tournament. Play the best I can and beat the guys in my group and I have a chance."
Wes Wailehua has coached Kamehameha the past 19 years. He characterized Dunaway’s accomplishment as "awesome — now I can retire."
The champion finished at 139, three shots ahead of Moanalua junior Kyosuke Hara (71) and Punahou sophomore Andrew Chin (72).
The Buffanblu won their third straight team title when Chin was joined by teammates Kyle Suppa, Colin Laszlo, Matthew Shen and Sian Rogers in the top 12. Laszlo is the only senior and Suppa’s 68 — he birdied three of the first four holes — was the day’s low round.
Suppa opened with a 75 Thursday, after arriving home Wednesday night from the inaugural U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship in San Francisco — with Four-Ball partner Hara. The two took a 6:30 a.m. flight to Kona to make their tee time.
"I thought he would shoot 67 today," grinned Punahou coach Ed Kageyama of his junior, who made the cut at this year’s Sony Open in Hawaii. "That’s what we were planning on."
Hawaii’s first high school championship was in 1966. The Warriors have won two team titles, but Dunaway is their only medalist and, just by the ecstatic look on his face, it was obvious he knew it.
He was part of Hawaii’s winning Junior America’s Cup team, with Suppa, Hara and Menehune teammate Shawn Lu, last summer and they were among the first to congratulate him Thursday. Dunaway’s junior resume convinced Brigham Young to give him a golf scholarship for the fall and he won the ILH this year and led the league in scoring average (69.6).
But Wailehua said winning high school golf’s biggest prize was Dunaway’s "most emotional" win and a "product of intense hard work, along with a love for what he is doing."
He had five birdies, stuffing his first approach shot within 5 feet to seize the lead immediately. He two-putted the par-5 fourth hole for his next birdie, then hit it to 3 feet at the eighth.
He was two ahead of Chin at the turn and doubled his advantage with birdies on the 14th — hitting it to a foot — and 15th.
"When I went birdie-birdie I had a feeling it was mine to lose, or mine to win," Dunaway said. "That was the moment for sure."
Punahou has now captured six of the past eight team titles, with Moanalua winning three years ago and ‘Iolani in 2009. The Buffanblu took an eight-shot advantage into the final round for the second time this week. Their girls won their third straight title Tuesday.
"Eight shots among four players is even tighter — that could change really quickly," Kageyama said. "It was nice to have the lead going in and have them chase us. Our job was to not give anything back to the field."
No problem. Punahou’s team (best four of five scores) was 2-under 286 in the final round and it finished at even-par 576. Moanalua was second, at 296—594.
