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Pars when needed. Birdies when it counted.
That simple formula led Brittany Fan to victory in Friday’s Manoa Cup women’s final, as well as to her being swung into the Oahu Country Club swimming pool, part of the traditional post-tournament festivities.
The chilly water was about the only thing that cooled Fan off this week, one that began on Monday with her earning medalist honors in the stroke-play portion and the top seed among 16 players. It continued with dominating match-play victories — 4 and 3, 7 and 6, 6 and 4 — heading into Friday’s championship against Kaylee Shimizu that had Fan teeing off on No. 16 for the first time in four match-play contests.
It ended with Shimizu, a rising junior at Utah Valley, conceding the par-3 16th after her birdie attempt rolled past the hole and downhill off the green. It gave Fan, a recent University of Colorado graduate, a 4-and-2 victory and the prestige of winning just the third women’s title in the 110-year history of the Manoa Cup.
“This means a lot,” said Fan, an honorable mention All-American for the Buffaloes this past season. “(Shimizu) is a collegiate player and I knew she was going to be a challenge for me.
“I made a few mistakes, but I think I definitely capitalized on my short game and putting. I think there’s less pressure when you get an early start. You want to keep it going. You may fall back a little, but the idea is to finish strong.”
After the pair parred No. 1 — both missing close birdie putts — Fan birdied No. 2, the first of her five birds on the day, and never trailed in the match.
Fan’s third birdie came at No. 5 with an approach shot that landed about 18 inches from the pin. The tap-in put her 2 up, a lead she maintained until No. 10, when Shimizu won her first hole with a birdie 3 that had her 1 down.
Fan answered with what she considered a momentum shift, making an uphill 10-foot putt for a birdie 2 and putting the lead back at 2.
“It definitely helped, she had just birdied 10,” Fan said. “I said, ‘OK, Britt, get your head in the game, keep chugging away and hold her off as long as you can.”
Shimizu birdied 12 to again close to 1, but Fan won two of the next three, capping the run with a birdie 4 on the 544-yard No. 15 to go 3 up.
Shimizu’s next tee shot landed left in the rough, a bad lie that led to an awkward, chunked second shot that barely made the fringe. Fan was eyeing a fairly easy chip-in, but didn’t have to take it after Shimizu’s third shot rolled off the green.
“I had a slow start. She got ahead and played a very solid round,” said Shimizu, a Baldwin High graduate. “She’s a pretty long hitter and she also made a lot of putts today. She was able to keep ahead and keep the momentum.
“I learned not to let it get the best of you. I’ve never been in this situation, and to make it this far … I’m happy.”
The two might see each other July 9 at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Qualifier at the Kapolei Golf Course. Shimizu might, instead, opt for next month’s Utah Women’s State Amateur in Salt Lake City.
Fan definitely will be at Kapolei as she closes the chapter on her amateur career.
“Kapolei, then Tennessee,” Fan said of the national event scheduled for August in Kingston Springs. “At least that’s the plan.
“I think what I learned this week was how Q (LPGA Qualifying) School was going to be like. Four to seven days of competition where you have to play consistently. You have to be consistent, be smart and trust your game.”
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