Henry Yogi will be the 71st person inducted into the Aloha Section PGA’s Hawaii Golf Hall of Fame. The Maui golf instructor is Hawaii’s longest serving PGA member.

Yogi, 82, will be honored at the eighth annual Hoolaulea Awards banquet, Feb. 20 at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii. He recently celebrated his 50th year as a PGA member.

“I had no idea this would happen to me,” Yogi said. “I was in shock when they told me. This is such a great honor. I am so very grateful.”

Yogi’s golf career started as a caddie at Mid-Pacific Country Club, when he was 13. He learned the game from MPCC pro Alex Beckley and future Hawaii Hall of Fame golfer Jimmy Ukauka.

After serving in the Army, Yogi moved to become head professional at the nine-hole Maui Country Club. Two years later, Maui mayor Eddie Tam invited Yogi for breakfast and asked him if he would take over as pro at the Waiehu Municipal Course. Yogi agreed and stayed 23 years before joining Makena Resort in 1986.

He returned to Waiehu for another seven years before joining the teaching academy at The Dunes at Maui Lani in 2002. He has been there ever since.

Yogi might be best known for his popular junior programs every summer at Waiehu. Many of his students have gone on to become top amateur and professional golfers in Hawaii, including Keith Kodani, Tony Takitani, Blake Higashi, Craig and Brian Sasada, Mark Seki and Eric Miyajima.

“The kids, you work with them, and it’s like you are the painter and they are the canvas,” Yogi once said. “They suck in what you teach them and give you 200 percent back. I just love that.”

The Hoolaulea also celebrates the champions of Hawaii’s five other golf associations. To reserve tickets, or for more information, contact the Aloha Section PGA office at 593-2230.

Amer Ari tourney starts in Hilo

University of Hawaii-Hilo will host the 25th annual Amer Ari Intercollegiate at Waikoloa Kings’ Course next week. The 19-team tournament features 16 Division I schools, along with D-II Hilo and CSU-Monterery Bay, and Japan’s Osaka Gakuin University.

Auburn, No. 1 in the most recent Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings, is in the tournament along with fifth-ranked Stanford, eighth-ranked USC, 11th-ranked Oklahoma State and 15th-ranked Arizona State. Hawaii is also playing.

There will be a College-Am Tuesday at Kohanaiki. Tournament rounds are Thursday-Saturday at Kings’, beginning at 7:30 a.m. There will be live scoring at golfstatresults.com.

Waiakea’s Hirata commits to UH

Two-time BIIF champ Trever Hirata signed a letter of intent with the University of Hawaii. The Waiakea senior has eight BIIF victories and six runner-up finishes in his high school career. He finished 10th at the last state high school championship.

“He’s not only a good golfer, but a great student as well,” said UH coach Ronn Miyashiro. “He epitomizes the kind of student-athlete that we are looking for to build our team for the future.”

Last spring, Hirata won the BIIF Championship by 17 strokes. He also competed in judo for seven years and has first- and third-place finishes at junior nationals.