Bogeys on the first and last holes in Sunday’s final round cost Hawaii’s John Oda about $100,000, but that was about all that went wrong for him in the OHL Classic at Mayakoba.
Oda tied for eighth in his fourth PGA Tour start, collecting $220,100. The three-time All-American turned pro this fall, before his final year at UNLV. He played in this year’s U.S. Open and also qualified for this year’s Sony Open in Hawaii.
Oda earned Sony’s amateur exemption in 2012, when he was a Moanalua High School sophomore. He would go on to win two state high school championships.
His top-10 finish last week in Mexico got him into this week’s RSM Classic, the final full-field event of the year. The Sentry Tournament of Champions opens 2018, Jan. 4-7 at Kapalua Plantation. The Sony Open in Hawaii is Jan. 11-14 at Waialae Country Club.
The week’s tournament, which has had a first-time champion the past three years, can be a warm-up for Oda’s Web.com Tour Q-School Final Stage next month.
Oda tied for second at the second stage event in Murrieta, Calif., earlier this month. When he got the surprise call to fill in as an alternate at Mayakoba, he said he washed the clothes in his suitcase and basically just re-packed.
‘Iolani graduate Lorens Chan also advanced to the final stage, tying for 17th in his second-stage tournament.
Hawaii’s Alex Chiarella, Brent Grant, Parker McLachlin and Tadd Fujikawa did not advance.
The final stage is Dec. 7-10 in Chandler, Ariz. Players who advance to the final stage are assured a Web.com Tour card for next season. The top 45 and ties are guaranteed to get into the majority of events the first part of the season.
Shimomura recognized as state’s best
Kevin Shimomura is No. 1 in Hawaii on Golf Digest’s list of “Best Teachers In Your State for 2017-18.”
A total of 571 pros — 102 from Florida and California — are included in the national listing. They are ranked by their peers.
Shimomura works out of Ko Olina Golf Academy. He was followed by Wailea Golf Academy’s Eddie Lee, Ben Hongo (Kapalua Golf Academy), Kevin Ralbovsky (KMR School of Golf), Claude Brousseau (Maui School of Golf) and Kyle Kunioka (Honolulu Country Club).
Hawaii’s Don Hurter, the longtime pro at Castle Pines in Colorado, was ranked No. 2 in his state.
Japan wins junior cup again
The challenge of a small state competing against a country came to an unsurprising conclusion at the 11th annual HSJGA Asia-Pacific Junior Cup last week in Yamasaki, Japan.
Japan’s finest high school players beat the Hawaii State Junior Golf Association team 29-3. Japan leads the series 8-2.
Davis Lee, a Mid-Pacific Institute sophomore, and AJ Teraoka, a Moanalua senior, earned two of Hawaii’s points with singles victories. Maui High junior Reese Guzman, the state high school runner-up, halved her singles match to earn a half point.
The event was founded by Hilton Grand Vacations Club and HSJGA president Mary Bea Porter-King, “to foster good will between Hawaii and international players in a fun Ryder Cup style tournament.” It was played at Waikoloa Kings’ the first nine years and went to Japan for the first time last year. It is scheduled to return to Hawaii in 2018.
