Sure the Manoa Cup is going a little gray and getting a bit forgetful. Who can remember all the excitement in a remarkable 107-year history?

In sharp contrast, the tournament’s champions only seem to be getting younger. Just two of the winners in this millennium were older than 22.

Matt Ma’s victory two years ago, at the ripe old age of 28, gave Nick Ushijima hope. When 44-year-old Jonathan Ota collected the state amateur match-play championship in 2006, Ushijima was still living in California.

He was only pondering a trip to Hawaii for a tournament he first heard about from University of the Pacific teammate John Hearn, now a pro at Oahu Country Club. Hearn has now caddied for his former frat brother in four Manoa Cups.

Ushijima, who turned 50 in December, tees off in a fifth on Monday at OCC, along with a field of Hawaii’s finest amateurs.

He fits right in. Ushijima fell to eventual champion Jared Sawada, 1-up in the Round of 16, two years ago. Three years before that, David Fink beat him on the 18th hole of their semifinal on the way to clinching his second straight Cup.

Ushijima grew up in Fukuoka, Japan, and moved to California at 14, becoming a member at the legendary Olympic Club two years later. He was a two-time All-American at UOP, then left the game for six years while getting his MBA at USC and working in real estate development.

He started his own real estate investment company 20 years ago in Northern California, but is now back in Fukuoka — when he is not in Hawaii. He and wife, Heidi, have visited Maui on a regular basis the past 12 years, but since Nick began playing Manoa Cup their focus for a future home has shifted to Oahu.

He is now in the process of becoming a member at OCC, and trying to figure out how to beat Hawaii’s best — and often youngest — to win his future home’s most coveted amateur trophy.

Ushijima has won 51 tournaments around the world, including two Mid-Amateurs in Japan and another in Canada.

"I would say winning the Japan Mid-Am is my biggest (golf) accomplishment so far," he said, "because winning any national championship is something very few have done."

The drastic drop in the age of Manoa Cup champions since 30-something Brandan Kop — now a Hawaii Golf Hall of Famer — won his third and fourth in 1997 and ’98 does not surprise Ushijima. He has seen it all over the world, along with the addition of women into what were traditionally male events. Michelle Wie started the Manoa Cup influx early on and at least two women will play next week.

What is different here, for lack of a more original term, is Manoa Cup’s unique sense of place. OCC’s short-and-anything-but-sweet layout and the rule that requires players to walk every hole through the steep valley always have an impact. Simply playing in Hawaii is just as memorable for Ushijima.

"I like the atmosphere of Hawaii tournaments because they are a lot more relaxed even though the tournaments are very rich in history and have been played on quality courses," he said. "And, of course, playing golf in Hawaii anywhere is always a special thing. Personally, I love the rain, the wind, and all the elements that come with the Manoa Cup."

The tournament was first played in 1907, a year after OCC opened. It rotated between Oahu and Waialae country clubs for a few years before settling in Nuuanu in 1944, after taking two years off due to WWII.

The Cup has been claimed by 15 Hall of Famers, including George Nahale. He became the oldest champion — at 51 — when he successfully defended in 1956.

That gives Ushijima, who also comes over for State Amateur Stroke Play and the OCC Invitational, something to shoot for beyond OCC’s elusive pin placements and unforgiving greens.

"Playing golf tournaments at the higher level and being able to test myself is something I always enjoy," he said. "Plus, as I said, being in Hawaii anywhere is always enjoyable."