Lu braves the wind to take OCC crown

After playing through rain and snow, what’s a little wind?

Well, maybe more than a little.

While gusts rushing through Nuuanu Valley Saturday afternoon inflated scores in the final round of the Oahu Country Club Men’s Invitational, Shawn Lu weathered the conditions to fire a round of 3-under-par 68, erasing a five-shot deficit to capture the title in the 54th annual event.

The Moanalua graduate and Oregon State sophomore posted the lone under-par round on Saturday and was the only player to dip into red numbers in all three rounds to finish at 5-under 208.

Although the wind fiercely defended par, Lu came prepared by a frigid winter in Corvallis, Ore., and carded five birdies in the final round.

“We had one of our worst winters this year,” Lu said. “It was raining almost every day for a couple months, it was snowing a couple times. It was rough because you have to practice through that — it only makes you better.”

By comparison, “it’s beautiful here. You honestly appreciate Hawaii a lot more once you leave.”

Last summer, Lu closed a decorated high school career highlighted by the 2015 Hawaii State Amateur Championship, an appearance in the Sony Open in Hawaii and the HHSAA crown as a senior. He played in eight tournaments as an Oregon State freshman, posted a top-10 finish in the El Macero Classic in April and finished the season with a scoring average of 75.04.

The experience helped him remain steady over three days at OCC, and he’ll return to Corvallis in early September with a tournament title.

“I learned that you just need a lot of confidence playing golf, especially collegiate golf because there are so many ups and downs. Any week anything can happen,” Lu said. “Keeping your confidence up even when you’re not playing well is really key.”

Lu opened with rounds of 1-under 70 in calm conditions the first two days and checked in on Saturday five shots behind leader Evan Kawai.

Kawai opened with rounds of 65 and 70 but faltered to a 78 in the final round. His closest pursuers and playing partners, Joey Sakaue and Tyler Ota, couldn’t make a move and finished at 78 and 79.

When the scorecards were signed, Lu’s round left him five shots clear of Kawai, who finished second in the Manoa Cup at OCC in June. Carl Ho, who won the senior division on Friday, placed third at 214.