KA‘ANAPALI, Maui >> Jun Ho Won threw drama to the Maui wind with his relentless excellence Friday. The Moanalua senior won the David S. Ishii Foundation State High School Boys Golf Championship by 10 shots, tying the record for largest margin of victory set in 1973 by … David Ishii.
‘Iolani threw bodies at the leaderboard to capture the team title at Royal Ka’anapali Golf Course. The Raiders won by eight shots over defending champion Moanalua and Punahou.
Four ‘Iolani players finished in the top 11, including seniors William Asai, Kengo Aoshima and Trevor Arashiro. Asai tied for third with Punahou’s Andrew Chin, and ‘Iolani junior Andrew Otani (73—148) shared sixth. Aoshima was another shot back and Arashiro tied for 11th. The Raiders’ winning score was 26-over-par 594.
“It took four years of their hard work,” said ‘Iolani coach Glenn Inouye. “The four seniors and two juniors came through big-time. At the beginning of the season, William Asai couldn’t break 80 and he worked hard.”
’Iolani’s last boys state golf championship came in 2009, when freshman Lorens Chan won the first of two individual titles. Friday, Chan fought his way to a T24 finish at the final PGA Canada Tour Q-School to earn conditional status this year.
Moanalua’s last individual champ was Shawn Lu, last year, when Na Menehune won their second team title in five years. Lu plays for Oregon State now and Won is headed for Boise State, with one of the most impressive victories of a notable junior career.
“This is one of my best because it’s my last year of high school and it’s states and my name stays forever,” he said. “So I wanted to do my best and luckily I did. I was working for it.”
He was uncatchable. The OIA champ opened with a 4-under 67 Thursday to take a two-shot advantage. By the time he teed off Friday, Chin was finishing a gaudy 6-under 31 on the front nine. It included two eagles and two bogeys.
That left Chin, headed to Brigham Young’s golf team in the fall, at 1 under and suddenly in contention.
Then, suddenly he was not and neither was anyone else. Won birdied two of his first four, then finished the front nine with four straight birdies — all from inside 10 feet — for yet another 31.
“I was on a roll,” Won said. “Good shots after good shots.”
By then, his lead was 10 shots and the back nine was a victory lap. He fired another 67 and smiled when he heard he now shared Ishii’s record.
“I didn’t even know that,” he said. “I feel honored because he is a really great guy. A lot of people look up to him.”
Won finished second last year. Mid-Pacific senior Zack Kaneshiro, second after the opening round, had the only other round in the 60s this year. The lowest score at Royal Ka’anapali in the girls championship earlier this week, won by Claire Choi, was 72.
Won’s teammate AJ Teraoka finished second at 70—144. He surged ahead of Asai and Chin — who triple-bogeyed the final hole — by holing out for eagle from 100 yards at No. 13.
Maui High’s Jordan Terada 73—147 was fifth, followed by Punahou’s Remington Hirano, Kaneshiro and Otani, as ‘Iolani names just kept showing up.
“It takes some luck and timing,” Inouye said. “Timing is a big part of it. We saw it in our boys. They finished third the last three years and we felt this year we could do it because of the seniors, and they came through.
“We told them last night that this opportunity doesn’t come along every year, especially with this being their last year. They worked hard.”