John Oda has two top-10 finishes on PGA Tour this season

Another week in golf, another Hawaii golfer to remind us of the game’s impact on paradise.

Last Sunday it was John Oda, extending his pipeline from Hawaii junior golf, Moanalua High School and UNLV to the PGA Tour with a third-place finish at the Barracuda Championship in Reno, Nev.

That’s where Punahou grad Parker McLachlin got his only tour victory in 2008. Last month, McLachlin was finally in contention again, taking 16th at the John Deere Classic. The same week, fellow Punahou alum Stephanie Kono won on the Symetra Tour, where she is eighth on the money list.

Oda has no playing privileges on the PGA Tour, but now has two Top 10s and more than $447,000 in six starts this season — four as a Monday qualifier. He got into Barracuda by shooting 63, fueled by two eagles. Last week’s finish allows him to play in next week’s Wyndham Championship.

If he were a member, he would be 162nd on the tour money list that already features 108 millionaires. He is just ahead of 2016 Sony Open in Hawaii champ Fabian Gomez and 36 spots above McLachlin.

“Obviously he is really comfortable on the big stage,” says Kapalua’s Mark Rolfing, who is in St. Louis this week to help with the PGA Championship broadcast. “Where does that come from? You can offer all sorts of instruction and advice to young players, but really only experience and being able to be there on a number of occasions is how you get comfortable. He has adapted so early.”

Rolfing says Monday qualifying four times in a year is rare and grinding out two Top 10s — Oda was eighth at last fall’s OHL Classic at Mayakoba— “even more impressive.” Oda, who turned pro last year before his senior season, also made the cut at the Sony Open in Hawaii and Barbasol. He has two top 10s on the Mackenzie Tour in Canada this year.

“It’s so hard when you can’t make a schedule and don’t know when you’re playing to not try to make things happen too fast,” Rolfing said. “He has been so patient and seems willing to wait and let things happen. He’s got the right formula.”

Hawaii still valued

Rolfing also believes the PGA is getting closer to the right formula for a “true world tour” with its revamped schedule next season. The PGA Championship, now the year’s final major, is moving to May — five weeks after The Masters and five weeks before the U.S. Open. The Players Championship is in March.

Next season begins the first week of October and ends the last week of August, with the two Hawaii events still starting the new year. Kapalua Plantation’s Sentry Tournament of Champions is Jan. 3-6, 2019, and the Sony Open Jan. 10-13.

“For Hawaii to preserve its spot in a major re-organization says a lot about how important Hawaii is to the PGA Tour,” Rolfing says.

Topgolf in the works

Rolfing is also affiliated with Topgolf, which describes itself as “blending technology and entertainment, golfers and non-golfers, children and adults to create an experience that makes socializing a sport for everyone.”

The company currently has 44 venues and 13 million visitors a year. It entered into a 20-year lease with the city in May to upgrade the driving range area at Ala Wai Municipal. Road improvements, not affiliated with Topgolf, are going on now. The Texas-based company is in initial planning stages for what Rolfing predicts will be “the ultimate Topgolf, like no other.”

Construction, estimated to take a year, is still “months away,” but the company is currently in a “listening phase” with the community, with the most common questions concerning lighting and noise. Rolfing is convinced both will be less obtrusive than they are now because of Topgolf’s design.

Topgolf Hawaii will pay the city a minimum annual lease rent of $1.02 million and one percent of gross revenue on sales. It also requires space for local golfers who just want to hit balls at a price similar to what they pay now. Plans include a four-story structure with 100 hitting bays, restaurant space, meeting and event spaces, a rooftop lanai and indoor and outdoor keiki areas.

“Topgolf on a stand-alone basis is great for the city and there is also a subsidy for enhancement of the Ala Wai Golf Course, so we will immediately see some upgrades to the course itself, which have nothing to do with the Topgolf facility,” Rolfing says. “That money will also find its way to other municipal golf courses. The revenue will really help all municipal courses on the island.”

Last week, the USGA announced a partnership with Topgolf to introduce “the first Virtual U.S. Amateur” on Topgolf’s World Golf Tour (WGT) game. The esports competition will be on the Pebble Beach Golf Links and culminate in “a live, head-to-head style final round.”

The winner gets a place in the 2019 Virtual U.S. Open on WGT. That esports competition has been going 10 years and had nearly 5 million participants. Contestants can play unlimited qualifying rounds through Aug. 26.

Rolfing says that, and other new Topgolf experiences, signal the company is “starting to understand that core golfers and ardent golfers can become a big part of their base.”

“Five years ago they thought their base would be non-golfers, just folks that wanted to be entertained,” he says. “They are starting to realize that, as people have less time, golf needs to introduce different products. This is one aspect of that.”