After introducing a Mid-Amateur Division last year, the Hawaii State Golf Association is adding Women’s and Senior Women’s flights to its 53rd State Amateur Stroke Play Championship, which tees off today at the Pearl Country Club.
There are eight women in each flight, including OIA champ Malia Nam, Aiko Leong and 2015 Hawaii State Women’s Golf Association Player of the Year Mira Han. The HSGA added the flights after the HSWGA changed its stroke- and match-play championships to members only.
Twenty golfers will tee it up in the Senior Men’s flight and 27 in Mid-Amateur (25-older), including Hawaii Golf Hall of Famer Brandan Kop.
The other 56 players are in the Open flight. Shawn Lu will defend his title against a field that includes Kyle Suppa, Matt Ma, Tyler Ota, Kyosuke Hara, David Saka, Andrew Chin and Jun Ho Won.
Open and Mid-Am flights play Thursday-Sunday. Seniors play 54 holes, taking Saturday off. There is a cut after the second round. Live scoring updates will be available Sunday afternoon at hawaiistategolf.org.
Rollins new HSJGA executive director
After spending 13 years with the Alberta Golf Association in Canada, Matt Rollins is the new executive director of the Hawaii State Junior Golf Association.
The Alberta section had a membership of 50,000 golfers and more than 200 facilities. Rollins was executive director/CEO after seven years as manager of sport development. He was also executive director of the Alberta Golf Foundation, which has contributed $550,000 to golfers pursuing post-secondary education.
HSJGA co-founder, president and board chair Mary Bea Porter-King has been serving as executive director. Her focus will now shift to future opportunities and fundraising.
Registration open for April tourneys
Applications are out for next month’s third annual Turtle Bay 2-Man Championship and the HSWGA Members Match Play Championship.
Turtle Bay has a $4,400 purse for four divisions and up to 60 teams. First round is April 2 at the Palmer Course and final round the following day at Fazio. Format is two-person scramble.
Entry deadline is March 26. To register or for more information, contact the Turtle Bay Resort pro shop (293-8574) or visit turtlebayresort.com.
Match Play is at Oahu Country Club April 13-15 — the week of the LPGA Lotte Championship. Golfers who belong to an HSWGA Club and have a handicap index of 21.1 or less are eligible. The championship flight will not be handicapped, but lower flights will.
Entry deadline is April 4 and maximum field is 32. Contact Gwen Omori (gcomori@hawaiiantel.net) for more information.
Kapalua course tops Golfweek’s list
Kapalua Plantation heads Golfweek’s 2016 list of “Best Courses You Can Play” in Hawaii. The home of the PGA Tour’s Tournament of Champions every January is also ranked 45th in the magazine’s list of the “Top 100 Modern Courses” in the U.S.
Manele, on Lanai, is second in the state and 71st on the list of modern layouts. It is followed by Mauna Kea, Princeville Makai, Turtle Bay Palmer and Poipu Bay.
Those six courses are also among Golfweek’s “Top 100 Resort Courses.”
Others on the magazine’s list of best in the state are Wailea Gold and Emerald, Ko‘olau, Hualalai, Kapalua Bay, Ocean Course at Hokuala (formerly Kauai Lagoons), Mauna Lani North, Ko Olina and Ka‘anapali Royal.
