Even after his chip traversed some 40 feet across Oahu Country Club’s 16th green and disappeared into the cup, Tyler Ota wouldn’t allow his thoughts to drift ahead to playing in his first Manoa Cup final.
Not until PJ Samiere’s chip for birdie stopped one revolution short of the hole to close out Ota’s 3-and-2 win Friday afternoon.
"No lead is safe with him until the final putt drops," Ota said outside the OCC pro shop following the semifinal victory, "or in this case, chip."
Dalen Yamauchi could attest to the tenuous nature of a match-play lead after Justin Williamson erased his 3-up advantage in a three-hole span. But moments after Ota’s chip in, Yamauchi scrambled for par on No. 18 to edge Williamson 1 up and finalize the pairing for Saturday’s 36-hole final to decide the state amateur match play championship.
"A lot of hard work goes into it so to see it pay off like this, to have a chance to win the Manoa Cup … it’s just an honor," Ota said.
Ota and Yamauchi both survived two matches on Friday to emerge from their sides of the 64-player bracket and will meet in the title match of the 107th Manoa Cup set for 7 a.m. Saturday.
Yamauchi, a 22-year-old Waiakea graduate, completed his college career at Hawaii Hilo this spring by being named the Vulcans’ male athlete of the year. He carded five birdies in a 5-and-4 win over Sian Rogers in the quarterfinals Friday morning and had four more against Williamson, boosting his total to 20 against just six bogeys in his five-match march to the final.
"If you would have told me that I would be playing in the finals of the Manoa Cup, I would not have believed you at the beginning of the week," Yamauchi said. "I just took it match by match, because you really can’t take anybody cheap out here."
Ota, 21, was a two-time OIA champion at Moanalua and placed second in the state high school championship in 2011. He hadn’t made it past the third round in his previous seven Manoa Cup appearances, but earned a shot at the title with 14 birdies in his two wins on Friday.
Ota circled eight birdies on his scorecard while fending off fellow Moanalua graduate Brent Grant 2 and 1 Friday morning. He carded six more birdies against Samiere, the last coming on the chip in on No. 16.
Samiere, a San Diego State sophomore, had rolled through his first four matches, but "this time I was the one who just didn’t have enough and Tyler was the one who played amazing."
Samiere was 1 up after Ota bogeyed the par-3 ninth hole. But Ota birdied the next three holes to take control.
Ota’s drive to the 10th green leaked to the right and ended up on the neighboring tee box. His chip over the ball washer stopped about five feet from the hole and he drained the birdie putt to even the match.
He came about six inches from a hole-in-one on the 198-yard par-3 11th hole and landed a wedge inside of four feet to set up another birdie on No. 12.
He left his tee shot on the par-3 16th short of the green, but his chip snaked toward the pin and dropped to force Samiere to make his to extend the match.
"I hit that chip perfect," Ota said. "It landed right on the spot I was looking at. One of the best shots I’ve hit all week so far."
Yamauchi didn’t have to play past the 14th hole in his first four matches this week, but went the distance to hold off Williamson. He was 3 up after 12 holes, but Williamson birdied the next three to square the match. Yamauchi birdied 16 to reclaim the lead but couldn’t match Williamson’s birdie on 17.
He hooked his drive off the 18th tee to the hillside next to the 15th green. He hit his approach short of the green and chipped to about five feet. After Williamson missed a par putt, Yamauchi drained his to advance to the final after first-round exits the past two years.
"(Williamson) played really well and I had to just hang in there and wait him out until he finished making birdies," Yamauchi said.
