Matt Pakkala followed the Manoa Cup since moving to Hawaii, but his professional status precluded him from entering Hawaii’s longest running golf tournament.
After going through the process to regain his amateur status a few years ago, the 48-year-old signed up for the state match-play championship for the first time this summer and now finds himself in the round of 16.
“Having watched it for 18 to 20 years living in Hawaii and seeing the news about it and the players coming through, it’s fun to be here,” Pakkala said after edging two-time Manoa Cup finalist Evan Kawai 1 up on Wednesday at Oahu Country Club.
Pakkala will next face top-seeded Peter Jung this morning for a spot in Friday’s quarterfinals as the tournament grinds toward Saturday’s final. Jung advanced with a 4-and-2 win over Joseph Matyas in Wednesday’s first match.
Pakkala turned pro shortly after college and moved to Hawaii in 2002 to help get the Kukio Golf and Beach Club on the Big Island up and running. He moved to Oahu in 2005 and has worked in real estate development and sales since, leaving little time for golf.
“I wanted to be in golf development so I had to make that decision to (turn pro) back then,” said Pakkala, who coached at Punahou for four years. “Now they let golf managers stay amateur, the rules have changed with the PGA of America. … But I’ve always wanted to be an amateur and get back to that part of the game.”
Pakkala, seeded 48th in the 64-player field, defeated Zachary Sagayaga 2 and 1 in the first round and was again locked in a tight match with Kawai on Wednesday.
He was 1 down after 14 and tied the match on No. 16, where he nearly aced the par-3.
Pakkala’s drive off the 17th tee sailed to the right and he hit a provisional, but found his first ball safely in the rough. He landed a wedge in the middle of the green while Kawai had a putt from below the hole. Kawai’s putt again stopped just short and Pakkala got his 12-footer to curl in to take the lead.
“Today was a little bit different because the rain was coming and going and you’re used to these icy greens,” Pakkala said. “All of a sudden you get a little rain and (Kawai’s) putt 30 minutes earlier probably goes in.”
Kawai, who played in the Sony Open in Hawaii in January and helped San Diego qualify for the NCAA tournament in the spring, found trouble off the tee on No. 18 and soon conceded the hole to Pakkala.
“Gotta give it to Matt today. … He made a lot of big putts, a lot of big up and downs,” Kawai said. “That’s how the Manoa Cup is, it’s 1-v-1 and the better guys end up winning.”
Hunter Hughes, a former University of Hawaii quarterback, survived a duel with Jordan Sato to advance in 19 holes.
Hughes, who rallied to edge Keanu Akina 1 up on Tuesday, made a 6-foot putt on the 18th to send the match back to No. 1. After pulling his drive next to the cart path to the left of the fairway, Hughes hit a sand wedge from 98 yards out and watched it settle 5 feet from the pin to set up a winning birdie.
Hughes reached the semifinals in 2018 and has former UH teammate Tumua Tuinei working as his caddie this week.
“Tumua was real encouraging just saying, ‘you’re built for this, don’t let this rattle you, we did this yesterday,’” said Hughes, who meets fellow OCC co-worker Aj Teraoka today. “I kept saying, ‘if we’ve got more holes left, we’ve still got a chance. Let’s stay in here and see if we can make something happen. And we’re still going.’”
In the women’s bracket, a possible matchup of sisters remains in play after Jennifer and Ashley Koga advanced to today’s semifinals.
Jennifer Koga finished her freshman season at Sacramento State by playing in the NCAA regional hosted by Stanford. The top seed in this week’s bracket moved on with a 4-and-3 win over Kara Kaneshiro and will face ‘Iolani’s Nicole Tanoue today.
“I personally am not that great at match play. I’ve played five times so far and I’ve only won once,” she said. “I’ve won two matches in a row, so I’m actually really happy with myself and hopefully I can continue that for the next two days.”
Ashley Koga, three years younger than her sister, earned a 5-and-3 win over Jolie Chee and will face Chloe Jang, a 3-and-2 winner over Anna Murata, in today’s second semifinal match.
112th Manoa Cup
At Oahu Country Club
Wednesday
Open Division
Round of 32
Peter Jung def. Joseph Matyas, 4 and 2
Matt Pakkala def. Evan Kawai, 1 up
Matthew Ma def. Yoshiki Sakai, 4 and 3
Adam Quandt def. Jeffrey Weinstein, 2 up
Marshall Kim def. Isaiah Kanno, 5 and 4
Kolbe Irei def. Brenden Beeg, 19 holes
Blaze Akana def. Spencer Dunaway, 5 and 4
Joshua Ching def. Drew Higashihara, 6 and 5
Aj Teraoka def. Brandan Kop, 5 and 3
Hunter Hughes def. Jordan Sato, 19 holes
Andy Okita def. Dane Watanabe, 2 and 1
Joshua Hayashida def. Shawn Sakoda, 1 up
Remington Hirano def. Andrew Otani, 4 and 2
Adam Chiya def. Anson Cabello, 2 up
Thayne Costa def. Ethan Hironaga, 2 up
Keita Okada def. Kyle Nakazaki, 1 up
Women’s Division
Jennifer Koga def. Kara Kaneshiro, 4 and 3
Nicole Tanoue def. Mari Nakamura, 1 up
Chloe Jang def. Anna Murata, 3 and 2
Ashley Koga def. Jolie Chee, 5 and 3
