Hawaii golf trying to follow safe course amid virus fears

Golf tournaments are disappearing and so are college careers. What happens today might be drastically different than what is coming tomorrow, or even in an hour.

Through this rapidly evolving COVID-19 pandemic that has impacted everyone, golf offered a small breath of fresh air, literally. It is not hard to “social distance” yourself on a golf course that covers a few hundred acres.

Then Wednesday, the City &County of Honolulu closed municipal golf courses, along with parks and other gathering places.

Local golf administrators, like those nationally and internationally, have started canceling and postponing large golf events to keep people as safe and healthy as possible.

The Aloha Section PGA and Hawaii State Junior Golf Association will not have events at least for the next month. That includes the annual Hawaii Junior Golf Day they do together.

It was scheduled for Saturday and 500-plus kids had signed up. TV ads have been running, along with promotions for the Masters, which has been postponed along with the PGA Championship.

Aloha Section executive director Wes Wailehua is hopeful the 62nd Mid-Pacific Open will happen late next month, but realizes things are changing with dizzying speed.

“Our conversations with people will continue,” he says, “to ensure the golf industry is a safe place.”

Next week’s Army Women’s Invitational at Leilehua was canceled Wednesday. Last week, the idea of “escaping” crowds and anxiety was a constant during the State Amateur Championship at the same site.

“My wife’s a nurse,” Matt Ma said Sunday. “If she was really concerned about me being out here then I would be too — and I wouldn’t be out here.

“Golf is a little different than an enclosed sport. All the guys out here are fist bumping instead of shaking hands and doing things a little different. They are all doing their part.”

The night of the first round, players got a “friendly reminder” email from the Hawaii State Golf Association. It talked about the new hygiene basics and asked golfers to “consider leaving the flagstick in” to minimize touches.

And, “No handshakes or hugs. We love all of you, but we won’t take it personally if you don’t offer to or don’t receive one from us. ‘Air fist’ or ‘elbow bumps’ are good.”

Ma, the ‘Iolani boys varsity coach, said his team asked him if they could practice — and talk — last Friday, when they discovered high school sports were suspended indefinitely.

Seniors on Hawaii’s college teams — and all over the country — had their careers end when the NCAA canceled spring championships and leagues followed suit. The PacWest’s 12 schools, including Hawaii Hilo, Hawaii Pacific and Chaminade, decided unanimously Monday to end spring sports. The conference championships were going to be at Waikoloa Kings’ in a month.

UH Manoa canceled its sports just after the Wahine shot their best round of the season to finish fifth at last week’s 32nd annual Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational in Kaneohe. Their Anuenue Spring Break Classic at Kapalua would have been next week.

UH senior Megan Ratcliffe tied for 13th last week, four shots behind junior teammate Tyra Tonkham, who snagged her second top 10 of the season.

Tonkham will have a chance to add to that. Ratcliffe and fellow senior Malia Ebersberger will not.

“When I heard the season was over, I was shocked,” said Ratcliffe, who has never finished outside the top 25 at Big West Championships. “I know that it was the right thing to do, but I never expected it to really be over so soon.”

She plans to graduate next spring and Ebersberger this spring. Both are interested in working in sports media and marketing … and still playing lots of golf. Ebersberger is heading home to Palm Desert and calls her time at UH “the highlight of my career.” Ratcliffe, a Canadian, swears she will “never forget what it felt like to be welcomed into this community with open arms.”

The men’s team will lose Nick Nelson, who won a state championship at Moanalua, and Waiakea grad Trevor Hirata. The three-time BIIF champion plans to go to medical school and says he will “cherish the memories” of his 31⁄2 years as a Rainbow.

There is no reason for them to focus on U.S. Open qualifiers in May. In the space of 90 minutes Tuesday: The USGA canceled those along with the 2020 Four-Ball Championships; the PGA Tour canceled or postponed every event through May 10 on all six of its tours, and the PGA of America postponed its PGA Championship, which was the following week.

Last week the LPGA postponed its next three events, including the year’s first major. The Lotte Championship, April 15-18 at Ko Olina, is next up, but that could change soon. Two Symetra Tour events were also postponed.

The final four MacKenzie (Canadian) Tour qualifying events were postponed. Tyler Ota, the five-time HSGA Player of the Year who just turned pro, was scheduled to play next week.