Despite playing in her first Jennie K. Wilson Invitational, Myah McDonald relied on experience to capture the title in the venerable event.
A junior at Mid-Pacific Institute, McDonald went under par during the Interscholastic League of Honolulu’s stop at Mid-Pacific Country Club in March and had played the Lanikai course a few times with friends who are club members.
When she returned for her Jennie K. debut, McDonald’s course knowledge helped her craft a three-day total of 1-under-par 215 to add her name to the 69-year-old tournament’s list of champions.
“It helps me a lot because on this course you really have to play smart and know where to miss,” McDonald said after signing for a 2-over 74 on Sunday that left her three shots clear of the field. “Knowing where to go and where not to definitely gave me an advantage in this tournament.”
McDonald captured the Jennie K. title a little less than a month after winning the ILH championship and 11 days after closing the high school season with a seventh-place finish at the David S. Ishii Foundation/HHSAA Golf Championship at Waikoloa.
Her round of 71 at MPCC on March 18 stood as her low for the season until she carded a 69 in the ILH finals at Turtle Bay’s Fazio Course on April 24 for a nine-shot victory.
Of her productive month, McDonald said “my putting has definitely held me together.”
She opened her first Jennie K. with a 74 on Friday, good for a tie for second, and her comfort on the greens ignited a round of 5-under 67 on Saturday. She needed just 22 putts to get through the bogey-free day and opened up a seven-shot lead with 18 holes to go.
“It allowed me some space to make mistakes, but I just wanted to play the best I could and knowing I had a seven-shot lead gave me a lot more confidence going into this round,” McDonald said.
She continued to pull away on her front nine on Sunday. She made up for an early bogey with a two-putt birdie on the par-5 fifth hole. She followed by dropping a 20-foot putt on No. 6. At the eighth hole, she hit a 4-hybrid from 160 yards out and stuck her approach 4 feet from the pin to set up her third birdie in the four-hole stretch to move to 5 under.
Weathering a brief downpour and a few gusts blowing in off the ocean, McDonald saw her lead swell to nine after 12 holes and a run of four bogeys over her last six holes mattered little as she still finished as the lone player in red numbers for the weekend.
“To finish out this round means a lot to show that all my hard work has paid off for this tournament,” she said. “This is my first Jennie K., I wasn’t expecting much. I just wanted to play my best and I did.”
Yuka Nii, a 16-year-old from Osaka, Japan, opened the tournament with a 77 but recovered with rounds of 71 and 70 — two of just three under-par rounds for the tournament — to finish second at 2-over 218 in her first trip to Hawaii.
Kaci Masuda, the runner-up the last two years, Shayna Lu and Kamie Hamada tied for third at 229.
Other flight winners were Jeannie Pak (A flight), Kyong Omura (B flight), Tanya Watumull (C flight), Debra Murobayashi (D flight) and Yong Ross (E flight).
