Shawn Lu and Rose Huang closed their summer at home by winning the Oahu Country Club men’s and women’s Invitationals earlier this month. That is not all they have in common.
Lu is heading back for his sophomore season at Oregon State, along with former Moanalua teammate Kyosuke Hara. They will be joined by Waiakea grad Shon Katahira this year.
“We had success with David Fink and that helps to get the junior golfers thinking about your program,” Oregon State coach Jon Reehoorn says. “At the same time, I noticed there seemed to be a strong connection between Hawaii and Northwest schools. Since then, we’ve made a few trips to Hawaii and have made an effort to be aware of the junior golfers in Hawaii.”
Huang has even more home-grown company at Brigham Young. The ‘Iolani alum was joined by Punahou grad Aiko Leong last fall. Maryknoll senior Allysha Mae Mateo has verbally committed for next year.
Alex White, another former Hawaii State Junior Golf Association member, finished 14th at the NCAA tournament in May, in her final BYU appearance. Punahou’s Andrew Chin is headed to the Cougars’ men’s team.
In other words, if you want a good look at the impact HSJGA has had on Hawaii golf, take a trip to Corvallis, Ore., or Provo, Utah.
Or maybe Nuuanu.
Fink is a member at OCC and two-time Manoa Cup champ. Huang beat out two-time defending OCC women’s champion Kristen Le — also an OCC member — for the championship at OCC this year. Huang’s eight birdies and four bogeys were one point better than Le’s 15 birdies and 10 bogeys in the Stableford format.
Le, a Punahou alum who qualified for NCAA regionals last season, is heading back for her senior year at Santa Clara, where she plays with ‘Iolani’s Chloe Wong. Last year Keilyn Ing — another ‘Iolani alum — was on the team.
OCC’s nooks, crannies and crazy elevation changes apparently bring out the best in HSJGA graduates who like to stick together in college.
Lu’s win at OCC came two weeks after he captured the Army Invitational. Both came as a surprise — to Lu — and leave him upbeat about his sophomore year.
He and Hara got on OSU’s radar at Junior Worlds, when they were heading into their sophomore season at Moanalua. Reehorn found Katahira at the same tournament, and his success at the U.S. Junior Amateur and Junior Americas Cup convinced the coach Katahira’s game “could travel.”
The same has proved true with Lu and Huang.
Lu was medalist at the 2014 Junior Americas Cup, which Hawaii won. The next year he captured the state amateur and earned the Sony Open in Hawaii amateur exemption. In 2016, he won the state high school individual title and so did his team, which is the only OIA school to win the boys title since 1980.
It only confirmed what OSU had seen early on at junior worlds. Lu, who helped recruit Katahira by taking him to eat at Local Boyz in Corvallis, appears to like everything about Oregon, including its rain.
He says the coaching staff has followed through on its recruiting commitment to help his game “in all ways” and he has felt comfortable on campus since his recruiting visit.
And he likes the weather, which helped immensely as he came back to win at Leilehua and OCC in sketchy conditions the final day.
“Most people freak out at the sight of wind, rain and snow while golfing, but I felt that if I practiced in it everyday, I would become a far stronger golfer,” Lu said. “From playing golf in perfect weather everyday in Hawaii, to playing in sideways rain for three months straight, going to Oregon State has really changed my perspective.”
Huang, born in Beijing and a valedictorian at ‘Iolani, is a major part of BYU’s resurgence. The Cougars qualified for their first NCAA Championship in nine years — by one shot — her freshman season and defended their West Coast Conference title this fall. They were ranked 32nd last season, with two tournament victories.
Huang has 13 top-10s already, including a win and runner-up finish at Hawaii’s Donnis Thompson Invitational.
She may have gone a long way for college, but she is still most comfortable at home, as she proved again at OCC.
