Golf’s greatest pleasures are as unique as its players.
In January, Xander Schauffele — whose dad was a pro at Princeville — holed out from the fairway twice for eagle to win this year’s Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua Plantation. He collected $1.3 million.
First Tee Hawaii golfer Weien Chang, 9, blasted a 3-wood 95 yards for his first career hole-in-one in June at Bayview Golf Course. His reaction was priceless.
Every golfer had a story in 2019. Some just had more than others, or made more money.
Tyler Ota made no money, but earned his fifth consecutive Hawaii State Golf Association Player of the Year Award. He also won the amateur exemption for next month’s Sony Open in Hawaii and is now, nearly a decade after graduating from Moanalua, planning to turn pro.
In 1997, Anna Murata became the only golfer to win all three Hawaii women’s majors the same year. This month, as she turned 41, she earned the HSGA’s inaugural Women’s Player of the Year Award.
The HSGA Senior Player of the Year is Mike Kawate, who won this year’s Klipper Amateur senior title and had eight top-five finishes in 11 starts.
That trio and Hawaii State Women’s Golf Association Player of the Year Jeannie Pak and Volunteer of the Year Barbara Schroeder will be among the many honored at the 12th annual Ho’olaulea. The celebration of Hawaii golf will be Feb. 15.
A list of the 2019 Hawaii golf champions, as Schauffele prepares to defend his TOC title on Maui next week:
2019 HAWAII GOLF CHAMPIONS
JANUARY
>> Sentry Tournament of Champions (Xander Schauffele)
>> Sony Open Monday Qualifier (Talor Gooch, Brent Grant, Corey Conners and Jared Sawada)
>> 17th annual Acura Hawaii Pro-Junior Skills Challenge (Davis Lee and Roger Sloan)
>> Sony Open in Hawaii (Matt Kuchar)
>> Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai (Tom Lehman)
FEBRUARY
>> 28th annual Amer Ari Intercollegiate (Oklahoma State and Matthew Wolff/Oklahoma State)
>> 12th annual HSGA Four Ball (Jake Sequin/Peter Jung. Flights: Seniors—Scott Ichimura/Mike Kawate, Women—Kellie Yamane/Alison Takamiya, A—Edwin Mariano/Randy Tamashiro, B—Glenn Maeda/Leighton Uyeda)
>> 43rd annual John A. Burns Intercollegiate (Arizona State and Peter Kuest/BYU)
MARCH
>> 34th annual Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational (Texas and SMU co-champs and Courtney Dow/Texas A&M)
>> 56th Hawaii State Amateur Stroke Play Championship (Tyler Ota. Flights: Women—Patricia Ehrhart, Seniors—Jonathan Ota, Mid-Am—Heikichi Katsuta)
>> Aloha Section PGA Assistants Four-Ball Invitational (Jason Jakovac and Derek Hamada)
>> Anuenue Spring Break Classic (Oklahoma State and Kaylee Shimizu/Utah Valley)
>> HSWGA Member Match Play Championship (Jeannie Pak)
APRIL
>> Big Island Candies Team Championship (Eric Dugas and Eliot Gouveia)
>> LPGA Lotte Championship (Brooke Henderson)
>> OIA Championships (Girls—Moanalua and Leia Chung/Leilehua, Boys—Kalani and Curtis Meares/Kalani)
>> MIL Championships (Girls—Baldwin and Lana Calibuso-Kwee/Baldwin, Boys—Seabury Hall and Jordan Mitsumura/Kamehameha-Maui)
>> ILH Championships (Girls—Myah McDonald/Mid-Pacific Institute, Boys—Peter Jung/Maryknoll)
>> 61st Mid-Pacific Open (Brent Grant. Flights: Low Am—Tyler Ota, Senior Pro—David Ishii, Senior Am—Kim Perry, A—Tim McClaren, B—Ka’ena Kaulia)
>> U.S. Open local qualifier (Parker McLachlin and Justin Keiley)
>> Big West Men’s Championships at Wailua (Cal State Fullerton and Matt Wilson/CSUF)
>> BIIF Championships (Girls—Waiakea and Lacey Uchida/Waiakea, Boys—Waiakea and Pono Yanagi/Kamehameha-Hawaii)
MAY
>> 68th Francis Brown Four Ball (Robert Kim/Colby Gunderson.
Seniors—Phil Anamizu/Carl Ho, A—Eddie Morales/Craig Watanabe, B—Leighton Uyeda/Glenn Maeda)
>> U.S. Women’s Open sectional qualifier (Tiffany Chan)
>> David S. Ishii Foundation Hawaii State Girls High School Championship (Waiakea and Leia Chung/Leilehua)
>> David S. Ishii Foundation Hawaii State Boys High School Championship (Hawaii Baptist and Jake Sequin/Mid-Pacific Institute)
>> U.S. Open local qualifier (Jared Sawada and Kolbe Irei)
>> 69th Jennie K. Wilson Invitational (Myah McDonald. A—Jeannie Pak, B—Kyong Omura, C—Tanya Watumull, D—Debra Murobayashi, E—Yong Ross)
>> Hickam Invitational (Matt Ma. Seniors—Carl Ho, A—Rusty Santiago, B—Roy Gonsalves)
>> 21—U.S. Senior Open qualifier (Kevin Hayashi)
JUNE
>> 3-4—IMG Academy Junior World Qualifier medalists (Boys: 7-8—Neal Manutai, Brycen James Massey; 9-10—Keola Silva, Noah Miyazono, Kaha’i’olelo Helm, Chase Nam; 11-12—James Fujita,
Bryce Toledo Lue, Jake Otani, Jackson Ibarra; 13-14—Ka’ena Kaulia, Yuuki Miyano, Dane Watanabe; 15-18—Noah Koshi, Jacob Torres, Torin Dezzani. Girls: 9-10—Kady Matsumoto, Rina Kawasaki, Jessica Lee, Jacey Kage; 11-12—Jaylen Wan, Jasmine Wong, Kate Nakaoka, Ava Cepeda; 13-14—Raya Nakao, Kara Kaneshiro, Jolie Chee, Rachael Wang; 15-18—Lacey Uchida, Myah McDonald, Shayna Lu, Tagiralani Luafalealo)
>> Aloha Section Junior PGA Championship qualifier (Isaiah Kanno, Lacey Uchida, Davis Lee and Yoonjeong Huh)
>> Aloha Section PGA Ka’anapali Classic Pro-Pro Championship (Jason Jakovac and Jared Sawada)
>> 111th Manoa Cup (Tyler Ota and Danielle Ujimori)
>> HSJGA King Auto 12-under State Junior Championship (Girls: 7-10—Jessica Lee, 11-12—Kate Nakaoka. Boys: 7-10—Keola Silva, 11-12—James Fujita)
>> U.S. Junior Amateur qualifiers (Girls—Jennifer Koga, Kamie Hamada and Kiara Todd; Boys—Noah Koshi)
>> HSJGA King Auto 13-18 State Junior Championship (Girls: 15-18—Kyung Eun Lee; 13-14—Teal Matsueda. Boys: 15-18—Kolbe Irei 13-14—Joshua Chung)
>> Drive, Chip and Putt Hawaii Qualifiers (Girls: 7-9—Caitlyn Matsunaga and Rylee Honda; 10-11—Kady Matsumoto and Jacey Kage; 12-13—Mia Hirashima and Mia Cepeda; 14-15—Kira Goode and Haley Arakaki. Boys: 7-9—Ethan Jake Abel and Brycen James Massey; 10-11—Ethan Chapital and Hayden Michael Ralph; 12-13—Tyler Tamayori and Case Ralar; 14-15—Gregory Jackson Jr. and Reagan James Miles)
JULY
>> 63rd Waialae Women’s Invitational (Allysha Mae Mateo. Low Net—Hae Sook Wada, A—Jenny Kim, B—B.B. Harvey, C—Nami Toyama, D—Juanita Laui)
>> Fourth annual First Tee Shootout and Pro-Am (Jared Sawada)
>> HSJGA All Ages JTS Oahu (Boys: 7-10—Austin Koki, 11-12—Seung Min Ham, 13-14—Rayden Hara-Shimabuku, 15-18—Peter Jung. Girls: 11-12–Mira Kubo, 13-14—Nicole Tanoue, 15-18—Chloe Jang)
>> Barbers Point Invitational (Tyler Ota. Seniors—Brandan Kop, A—Marc Arakaki, B—Al Amii)
>> 119th U.S. Amateur qualifiers (Shawn Lu and Lorraine Char, Allysha Mae Mateo and Alanis Sakuma)
>> U.S. Senior Amateur Women’s qualifier (Marie Miyashiro and Agnes Yamauchi)
>> 56th annual Oahu Country Club Men’s Invitational (Tyler Ota. Seniors—Jonathan Ota, Mid-Am—Nick Ushijima, Super Seniors—Phil Anamizu)
>> U.S. Senior Amateur qualifier (John Shaw)
>> 10th annual Dave and Busters Jr. Classic (Girls: 13-14—Leia Chung, 15-18—Shayna Lu. Boys: 13-14—Skylor Taylor, 15-18— Marshall Kim Jr.)
AUGUST
>> 61st Army Invitational (Jake Sequin. Mid-Am—Isaac Jaffurs, A— Marc Arakaki, B—John Mun, C—Patrick Higa)
>> Maui Open (Chris Shimomura. Low Am—Bryce Iwasaki, Seniors—John Bascuk, Super Seniors—Mark Shimamura and Doug Stacy, A—Brian Inouye)
>> U.S. Mid-Amateur Qualifier (Jay Livsey)
>> HSJGA Mixed Team Championship (Lacey Uchida and Jake Sequin)
>> Oahu Country Club Women’s Invitational (Kellie Yamane. Low Net—Annika Espino, A—Corie Lee Hasselmann, B—Ellen Wilson, C—Joy McLaughlin, D—Gwen Omori)
>> HSJGA Ka’anapali Match Play Championship (Girls: Tagiralani Luafalealo. Boys: 15-18—Noah Koshi, 13-14—Joshua Chung)
>> National Car Rental Assistant Championship (Hunter Larson)
>> Third annual HSGA Kauai Amateur (Casey Watabu. Seniors—Jim Williams, A—Jaben Schalk, Low Net—Antolin Apalla)
SEPTEMBER
>> Hapuna Roundup (Scott Bridges)
>> Big Island Junior Classic (Girls: 7-10—Kady Matsumoto, 11-12—Kate Nakaoka, 13-14—Yoonjeong Huh, 15-18—Kyung Eun Lee and Myah McDonald. Boys: 7-10—Kaha’i’olelo Helm, 11-12—Jackson Ibarra, 13-14—Dysen Park, 15-18—Isaiah Kanno)
>> 35th Mayor’s Cup (Chad Umetsu. Women: Low gross—Jeannie Pak, Low net—Esther Jung, Senior low gross—Mira Jang, Senior low net—Carol Gonsalves. Men: Senior low gross—Brandan Kop, Senior low net—Frederick Denault, A—Manny Bercasio, B—Wayne Yamamoto)
>> HSJGA Junior Tour Series-Maui (Boys: 11-12—Renner Chumley, 13-14—Reagan James Miles, 15-18—Jake Sequin. Girls: 11-12—Maile Wong, 13-14—Teal Matsueda, 15-18—Lacey Uchida)
>> 41st HSWGA Senior Championship (Mira Han. Low net—Kyong Omura. Championship 80-88—Thelma Kimura and Ruby Hiraishi (low net); A 73-79—Estra Quilausing and Linda Quon (low net); B 67-71—June Li and Judy George (low net); C 59-66—Mira Jang and Gwen Omori (low net); D 50-58—Yindi Fowler and Lily Boulware (low net).
>> 96th HSGA Big Island Amateur (Blaze Akana. Big Island resident—Ken Zecchini, Seniors—John Shaw (low gross) and Wayne Yamauchi (low net), Women’s low net—Agnes Yamauchi).
>> Oahu Junior Classic (Boys: 7-10—Maximus Waki, 11-12—James Fujita, 13-14—Skylor Taylor, 15-18—Torin Dezzani. Girls: 7-10—Jessica Lee, 11-12—Ava Cepeda, 13-14—Leia Chung, 15-18—Jennifer Koga).
OCTOBER
>> Kauai Junior Classic (Boys: 13-14—Joshua Chung, 15-18—Peter Jung. Girls: 11-12—Kiara Johnson, 13-14—Yoonjeong Huh, 15-18—Kyung Eun Lee)
>> 65th annual Maui Women’s Invitational (Annette Gaiotti. Low net— Gina Parola)
>> HSGA Klipper Invitational (Eric Cross. Seniors—Mike Kawate, A— Wade Nakamura, B—Jon Shirafuji)
>> HSWGA Member Stroke Play Championship (Jessie Merrill. A—Kyong Omura, B—Young Leskovec)
>> Third annual HSGA Maui Amateur (Kyle Hayashi. Senior low gross—David Goode, Senior low net—John Bryant, Women—Rhonda Hay)
>> 17th Turtle Bay Open (Peter Jung. A—Robert Grey, B—Leighton Uyeda, C—Ryan Park, Seniors—Douglas Banks, Women—Jennifer Hultz)
>> Dennis Rose Intercollegiates (Men—Sonoma State and Elis Svard/Cal State Monterey Bay; Women—Concordia Portland and Isabel Carpenter/Cal State Monterey Bay)
>> U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Qualifier (Anson Arakaki and Shaun Downie)
>> Hoakalei Collegiate Invitational (East Tennessee State and Shiso Go/East Tennessee State)
>> Rainbow Wahine Invitational (Sacramento State and Tess Blair/Sacramento State)
NOVEMBER
>> Sixth annual Ka’anapali Classic Collegiate Invitational (Oklahoma and Trent Phillips/Georgia)
>> ASPGA Golf Concepts Pro-Scratch (Kevin Shimomura and Matt Ma)
>> 4-6—Pac-12 Preview at Nanea (Arizona and Rino Sasaki/Washington)
>> 12th annual HSJGA Asia-Pacific Junior Cup (Japan)
>> 47th Gov. John Burns Challenge Cup (Pros 6, Amateurs 6—last day rained out)
>> Sony Open in Hawai‘i amateur qualifying (Tyler Ota)
DECEMBER
>> Michelle Wie HSJGA Tournament of Champions (Girls: 7-10—Kady Matsumoto, 11-12—Jasmine Wong, 13-14—Leia Chung, 15-18—Myah McDonald. Boys: 7-10—Keola Silva, 11-12—James Fujita, 13-14—Dillon Jonke, 15-18—Dillon Ah Chong)
