Two adjustments —one before opening Manoa Cup play and another between rounds Saturday — put Tyler Ota on the path to a rewarding plunge into the Oahu Country Club pool.
A putting lesson with Hawaii Golf Hall of Famer Brandan Kop last week convinced Ota to implement a "drastic" change to his technique leading up to the state amateur match-play championship. His refined feel on the OCC greens propelled him into the title match and Ota led midway through Saturday’s 36-hole final against Dalen Yamauchi.
In the break following his first 18 holes, Ota — who had been playing through back pain — got an adjustment in the locker room from his chiropractor, Harvey Sato.
"I went to chip (on the practice green) and said, ‘This feels good. Something might happen here,’ " Ota said.
Ota promptly birdied three of the first six holes in the second round and captured the 107th Manoa Cup title with a 5-and-4 win over Yamauchi.
"It feels good. It feels really, really good," Ota said before the traditional toss into the pool. "A lot went into this tournament and it just feels great to see it pay off."
After Ota rolled in a par putt on the 32nd hole, Kop was among the first to congratulate him on the 14th green.
Along with altering his stroke during a practice round last Friday, Ota said a tip from the four-time Manoa Cup champion helped keep him calm standing over the final putt.
As for the suggestions that aided Ota’s putting …
"It’s a secret between me and him," Ota said with a smile, "sorry."
Whatever the change, Ota paired solid putting combined with consistent ball striking to card 27 birdies in a five-day run to the title.
"It’s a drastic change that I was willing to take the chance to put into play," Ota said. "I trusted him enough where he wouldn’t lead me in the wrong direction.
"I’ve always felt like my putting has held me back. But this week everything just seemed to drop at the right time. … I almost willed the ball in."
Ota, 21, has also worked with Casey Nakama at Olomana Golf Links for the last decade and focused on sharpening his game following a shaky showing at the Mid-Pacific Open in April.
But his week at OCC didn’t exactly get off to an inspiring start.
He tweaked his back during Monday’s qualifying round and opened match play by topping his drive at the first tee Tuesday morning.
"Straight out of the gates, topped it, didn’t even reach the fairway," said Ota, who could laugh at the memory on Saturday.
The Moanalua graduate recovered to save par and win the hole on his way to the first of his six victories in the week-long endurance test.
In Saturday’s final, Ota played OCC’s fifth and sixth holes at 6 under par, taking the lead by going eagle-eagle in the morning round and pulling away with birdies in the afternoon.
Yamauchi was 1 up going into the 281-yard fifth hole when Ota holed out his second shot from 20 yards off the green to square the match. On the par-5 sixth, he punched a 4-iron to about 10 feet from the pin with his second swing to set up another eagle and never trailed again.
"I just hit two perfect shots," Ota said. "I couldn’t hit it any better."
Yamauchi, a Waiakea graduate, went into the final looking to retain the cup for the Big Island a year after fellow Hilo product Nainoa Calip’s win.
The first of Yamauchi’s six birdies on Saturday was covered by Ota’s eagle on No. 5. Six down through 30 holes, he extended the match with an uphill pitch that settled next to the pin for a pick-up birdie on their second hike of the day to the 13th green. Another birdie putt burned the right edge of the cup on 14 and Ota sank his par putt to win.
"I play this pretty much every year and I enjoyed myself out here," Yamauchi said. "I have to be happy with the effort though because this is the farthest I ever made it. So I’m happy the result even though I lost today.
"I was trying my best, it’s just some days you have it and some days you don’t. I just didn’t have the game to keep up with Tyler."
