Local golfers miss the crowd but enjoy the moment

When Parker McLachlin makes five birdies at Waialae Country Club, it usually means he finished the round with a nifty score, at least something under par. But McLachlin also had three bogeys and a double bogey, leaving him with an even-par 70 after Thursday’s first round of the Sony Open in Hawaii.

McLachlin was among the three players in the field who went to school or live and work in the islands now. His score was the best of the three, and it will be a challenge for all three to make the cut after today’s second round.

McLachlin, a PGA Tour veteran who was a rookie in 2007 and won the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open in 2008, was at 1 under after 12 holes. But then he got his final bogey on No. 15 and played par the rest of the way for his 35-35—70.

Eric Dugas, the pro from Makena Golf &Beach Club on Maui, ended Thursday a stroke back of McLachlin at 1-over 71.

He finished strong, hitting his third shot out of a bunker on No. 18 to within 9 feet of the hole and then sinking the birdie putt.

“A small goal of mine is to make the cut, but I obviously have bigger goals,” said Dugas, who is playing in his fourth consecutive Sony Open and sixth overall and has made the cut twice with a best finish of 72nd. “I know the golf course very well. The wind, the way it’s playing. It’s very firm, it’s very fast. It’s in great shape. There’s no excuses out there. I’ve got to hit fairways.”

He sprayed it around off the tee a bit Thursday morning, hitting eight of 14 fairways.

“Short game was obviously good to get me out of some of those situations, but if I don’t hit it off the tee better I’m not playing the weekend,” Dugas said.

He double-bogeyed No. 5 and birdied No. 8 and bogeyed No. 11.

Dugas said it was a bit strange playing in a PGA Tour event with just a few people on the course.

“Different for sure, which everyone will say the same. Part of the Sony is the people, the atmosphere. So it is different. The volunteers, a few people out,” he said. “It’s still the Sony, but yeah, it’s different even walking around Waikiki, just everything’s a little bit different.”

Evan Kawai’s place as tied for 142nd in the 144-player field didn’t look too great on paper, but he left the course with a good feeling. He shot 4-over 74, but got his only birdie on the last hole, and said he is eager to return for today’s second round.

Although he had five bogeys, Kawai never lost his composure and bounced back with a par after every one of them.

“Almost every hole, I looked at Carsen (Chun, his caddie, and said), ‘Not bad for our first round, not good, not bad.’ The experience was dreamlike out there,” Kawai said.

Kawai, a Punahou graduate and member of the University of San Diego golf team, qualified for a local amateur exemption by winning the Hawaii State Golf Association qualifier. “We did a lot of good things. We stuck to our process. We didn’t do anything wrong,” Kawai said. “We had a couple miss-hits on the putts, controlling the speed, but besides that, stayed in it all the way. Didn’t make a mental mistake today. So I’m happy about that, and we’ll just keep on rolling into tomorrow.”