Kyle Suppa’s PGA Tour dreams began as a 7-year-old spectator at the Sony Open. Perhaps that was one of the biggest perks of growing up right next to Waialae Country Club.
Suppa actually made the cut at the 2015 Sony Open as an amateur, back when he was a junior at Punahou. Now a junior at Southern California, his pro aspirations haven’t changed. But now they’re a lot closer.
“It’s definitely something I think about quite a bit — being able to prepare my game once I leave school and be able to make it at a professional level,” he said. “It’s a lot different playing golf after school. The school aspect is gone, so you have more time to be able to practice.
“But then also, you’re almost playing every week. There’s not as much rest time, so it can wear you out more easily. I think it’s important to be conscious of that while you’re still in school.”
A timeline for a professional career is in sight, but not until Suppa graduates. Southern California’s generally warm climate and Marshall School of Business were a big reason why he chose to be a Trojan in the first place.
Suppa was considering UCLA and Stanford as well, but the lack of an undergraduate business school at both swayed him toward USC. With an eye toward a potential avenue in finance, Suppa believes there’s value in a business background regardless of how long his golf career lasts beyond college.
Currently, Suppa is enjoying possibly the best stretch of his collegiate career. In October, he tied for seventh at the Golf Club of Georgia Invitational in Alpharetta, Ga., with a three-round total of 5-under 211. Then in November, he shot a 5-under 208 at the Saint Mary’s Invitational at Pebble Beach, Calif., finishing in a tie for fourth among a field of more than 100 golfers. USC won both team titles.
In his first competition of the calendar year, Suppa was back on the Big Island for the Amer Ari Invitational last week on the same Waikoloa Kings’ Course where he won an HHSAA boys team championship with the Buffanblu in 2015. Suppa finished in a tie for 12th with a 7-under 209, with his mother in attendance for all three rounds, while USC tied for fourth in the team standings.
“It’s always fun to play that tournament back in Hawaii because I’ve played Waikoloa a number of times growing up. I know a lot of people that work at the golf course,” he said. “The familiarity with the golf course and the climate definitely helps.”
Suppa played in three events as a freshman, then as a sophomore was just one of three Trojans to play in every event. He’s come close, but he’s never won an individual event in college. If his past three performances are any indication, he’s trending in the right direction.
“These last three tournaments I think have been my biggest highlight, being able to put three really solid tournaments together,” he said. “Being able to consistently play well has definitely been a big highlight. And also our team winning the Pac-12 last year was really exciting.”
Winning a tournament along with garnering All-America honors are among his personal goals before he finishes his college career. His biggest goal? Contributing to a national team title.
For all the individual accolades the game of golf brings, Suppa knows he only has a little over a year left to play for something bigger than himself.
“USC men’s golf doesn’t have (a national championship) yet,” he explained. “That’s our goal every year at the start of the year, so that would be an awesome thing to achieve.”
AROUND THE NATION
MEN’S BASKETBALL
>> Tolu Smith, Kahuku ’18: The Western Kentucky reserve forward had four points and eight rebounds in 10 minutes off the bench of a 62-59 win over North Texas on Saturday. The Hilltoppers are 8-4 in Conference USA play (15-10 overall).
>> Cole Arceneaux, Punahou ’18: The Adams State freshman guard started his fourth game of the season and had three points, two steals and a rebound in 17 minutes of a 78-57 win over Colorado Christian on Saturday.
>> Chris Kobayashi, Punahou ’17: The Pacific (Ore.) sophomore guard had eight points, three rebounds, three assists and a steal in a 127-118 win over Pacific Lutheran on Friday.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
>> Chanelle Molina, Konawaena ’16: The Washington State starting guard tied a season high with 28 points on 11-for-16 shooting and played all 40 minutes of a 90-88 win over Arizona on Saturday. Molina added nine assists to give her 126 for the season, moving her into the top 10 on the school’s single-season list, and contributed three rebounds and a steal.
>> Jasmine Moody, Radford ’15: The Brigham Young senior forward scored 12 points on 6-for-10 shooting and added seven rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench of a 78-75 loss to Saint Mary’s (Calif.) on Thursday.
>> Tyra Moe, Punahou ’16: The Saint Mary’s junior came off the bench and made a 3-pointer in limited minutes for the Gaels against the Cougars.
>> Fieme’a Hafoka, Lahainaluna ’16: The San Jose State junior guard started for the Spartans and finished with six points, nine rebounds, five assists and a steal without a turnover in 29 minutes of an 83-69 loss to Boise State on Saturday.
MEN’S GOLF
>> Kyosuke Hara, Moanalua ’16: The Oregon State junior sandwiched a 2-under 70 between even-par rounds of 72 to finish in a tie for 37th place at 2 under at the Amer Ari Invitational on the Big Island that ended Saturday.
>> Shawn Lu, Moanalua ’16: The Beavers junior closed with a 73 to finish in a tie for 66th place at 3 over in the Amer Ari Invitational.
>> Zackary Kaneshiro, Mid-Pacific ’17: The Santa Clara sophomore closed with a 2-over 74 to finish in a tie for 20th place at 7-over 223 at the UC Irvine Invitational that ended Tuesday.
WOMEN’S GOLF
>> Claire Choi, Punahou ’18: The Santa Clara freshman closed with a 1-over 73 to finish in a tie for 15th place at 6-over 222 at the Battle at the Rock in Riverside, Calif., that ended Tuesday.
>> Kaylee Shimizu, Baldwin ’15: The Utah Valley junior closed with a 5-over 77 after shooting 73 in the second round and finished in a tie for 36th place at 10 over at the Battle at the Rock.
>> Chloe Wong, ‘Iolani ’16: The Santa Clara junior finished in a tie for 47th place at 14 over at the Battle at the Rock.
>> Keila Baladad, Kaiser ’17: The Utah Valley sophomore closed strong with a 1-over 73 and finished in a tie for 50th place at 15 over at the Battle at the Rock.
SOFTBALL
>> Jocelyn Alo, Campbell ’17: The Oklahoma sophomore played in four of the Sooners’ five games in their opening tournament of the season and hit .529 (8-for-14) with a double, two walks, three runs scored and an RBI. The Sooners went 5-0 in the Grand Canyon tournament and outscored their opponents 44-2.
>> Kamalani Dung, Kamehameha ’15: The California senior right-hander threw 31⁄3 shutout innings of relief, allowing just one hit and one walk with six strikeouts to earn the win in a 4-1 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday. Dung made two appearances in four games to start the season, throwing a complete game in a 7-4 loss to Louisiana on Monday.
>> Ashley Salausa, Leilehua ’17: The Nevada sophomore outfielder drove in the Wolf Pack’s first three runs of the season with a sacrifice fly and a two-run double in a 6-4 victory over Santa Clara on Saturday.
>> Chris Hipa, Kamehameha ’15: The Cal State Bakersfield senior second baseman hit the go-ahead solo homer in the top of the seventh inning to give the Roadrunners a 4-3 win over UC Santa Barbara in their season opener on Friday.
>> Cydney Curran, Campbell ’16: The CSU Bakersfield shortstop hit .333 (4-for-12) with a triple, three runs scored and two RBIs to help the Roadrunners go 3-1 in their opening tournament of the year.
>> Marley Dyer, ‘Iolani ’18: The Pacific Lutheran freshman finished 3-for-5 with a double, a walk, two runs scored and two RBIs in a doubleheader sweep of Occidental (Calif.) on Saturday and added a solo homer in a 14-12 win over Whittier (Calif.) on Sunday.
WOMEN’S TENNIS
>> Ashley Ishimura, Punahou ’15: The Creighton senior won in three sets at No. 1 singles in a 4-3 loss to Missouri State on Friday and won at both No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles in a 6-1 victory over Western Illinois on Saturday.
>> Skyla Alcon, Mid-Pacific ’15: The Cal State Northridge senior won 6-1 at No. 1 doubles and did not lose a game in a 6-0, 6-0 victory at No. 1 singles to help the Matadors beat Marymount California 6-0 on Saturday.
>> Diana Wong, Hilo ’16: The Louisville junior, who transferred from New Mexico in the offseason, won both of her matches at No. 6 singles and split her two matches at No. 2 doubles in wins over Marshall on Friday and Pittsburgh on Sunday.
>> Kayla Manz, Sacred Hearts ’17: The UC Santa Cruz sophomore won in straight sets at No. 3 singles and also was victorious at No. 2 doubles in an 8-1 win over Whittier (Calif.) on Saturday.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
>> Addison Enriques, KS-Hawaii ’17: The Concordia-Irvine sophomore libero had seven digs and four assists in a four-set win over Grand Canyon on Saturday.
>> Avery Enriques, KS-Hawaii ’17: The Grand Canyon sophomore libero had a match-high 14 digs and an assist in a four-set loss to his brother’s team.
>> Emmett Enriques, KS-Hawaii ’15: The Cal State Northridge senior libero had two digs and two assists in a sweep of Cal Lutheran on Friday.
WOMEN’S WATER POLO
>> Malia Gacutan, Punahou ’17: The Villanova sophomore had a key goal in the fourth quarter to help the Wildcats (1-3) win their first match of the season 14-11 over George Washington on Saturday.
>> Kahea Kahaulelio, Kahuku ’15: The Pomona-Pitzer senior scored a goal in the second quarter of an 8-6 overtime victory over Santa Clara on Sunday to close the Triton Invitational.
>> Nohea Kahaulelio, Kahuku ’15: The Pomona-Pitzer senior had a goal and a steal in the win over the Broncos.
MEN’S WRESTLING
>> Josh Terao, Mid-Pacific ’14: The American University senior won an 8-1 decision at 133 pounds to help the Eagles edge Bucknell 22-21 on Friday.
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Compiled by Star-Advertiser’s Billy Hull. To submit an athlete for publication, email bhull@staradvertiser.com.
