It is not the most surprising streak in Hawaii golf, but the amateurs’ run of seven straight victories in the Gov. John A. Burns Challenge Cup might be the most galling, at least if you work in the game for a living.
Until 2006, the pros dominated this local version of the Ryder Cup, winning 23 of the first 34 meetings. They haven’t won since, but get another shot next week.
Maybe the pros’ putts stopped dropping, or the amateurs — enticed by a rare opportunity to play the Sony Open in Hawaii — started draining everything in sight.
Or maybe the pros’ careers took on a life outside the golf course, while the amateurs are kept tournament sharp by junior, high school, college and national events.
Or the amateurs got better and better, and younger and younger …
The answer is all of the above, and more, and the pros are "ready to rumble" in pursuit of bringing the Cup home again, according to OCC head pro Andrew Feldmann, this year’s pro captain.
Last year, tournament chair Jim Burns — his father originated the event in 1973 to promote the game — offered PGA Tour winner Dean Wilson an "exemption" to play for the pros.
The Castle High graduate accepted, was undefeated, and the pros still fell. The difference was small (13-11) but the memory still painful. The amateurs won eight of the 12 singles matches the final day.
It was the closest score since 2009. From 2010 to ’12, the amateurs won by an average of eight points.
They need 12 this year to keep the Cup. Their team is anchored by State Stroke Play champ Kyle Suppa and Manoa Cup champ Nainoa Calip. At 30, former Manoa Cup champ Matt Ma is the grizzled veteran.
"I always joke that the pros need to stop teaching the amateurs, especially the young kids, so well," says Ma, who works for Golf Concepts. "The pros are married with kids and have the problems of the real world etc. to worry about — work, mortgage, kids, taxes … and may not get out on the course or the range as much as they would like.
"When I was in high school and college all I did was go to school and practice. Now I got to go to the office and work everyday and I don’t have the same amount of time as I once did. I didn’t realize how good it was until it was gone. For me to compete with the young worldbeaters is a bit weird because guys used to call me a kid and these kids now I used to see them as basically elementary children.
"On top of all that, it’s great to play and get all the camaraderie and trash talk amongst everyone and get the competitive juices going."
In sharp contrast to the teen-dominated amateur team, the professionals’ biggest name is 71-year-old Dave Eichelberger, who won 10 times on the PGA and Champions tours.
Eichelberger might play more golf than all his teammates combined. Only Miller Barber has more starts on the two tours, with Eichelberger teeing it up more than 1,250 times. Now he is a member at Waialae and Oahu and might play even more. In 2011, he won the Aloha Section PGA’s Sony Open slot when he shot his age to win the Stroke Play Championship.
He is Feldmann’s assistant captain and their team also includes TJ Kua — another former Manoa Cup champ, Garrett Okamura, who earned this January’s Sony slot, and Casey Nakama, about to be inducted into the Hawaii Golf Hall of Fame.
David Ishii, another Hall of Famer who won the 1990 Hawaiian Open, pulled out this week because of a sore shoulder.
Feldmann is looking for a little more aggression at Mid-Pacific Country Club Monday and Tuesday. He knows his team does not lack for incentive. There might not be prize money involved, but the pros "participate to help support the amateurs and for the love of the game and competition," he says — and now to break that seven-year slide.
"The Governor’s Cup has been around for a very long time, it is a very prestigious event," Okamura says. "There is great camaraderie, and it’s an honor to have qualified for this team. It is a Ryder-Cup style format, too, which is so much fun, and I love to compete, especially in match play."
Feldmann knows the quality of the amateurs’ play has improved, but he thinks the most significant change is the increase in the sheer number of quality amateurs. And, he sees the golf business changing over the last decade, forcing most pros away from the course.
"When it’s all said and done," says Ma, who played at Oregon, "the kids now are really, really talented, as evidenced by where they are committing to play their college golf. For example, Lorens Chan is at powerhouse UCLA and John Oda is playing as a freshman at UNLV. Those are some great programs traditionally."
The 12 amateurs qualified by earning points for finishes at select tournaments during the year, with Suppa and Calip leading the list. Only those who play in the Cup can try to qualify for the amateur slot at Sony Open. That qualifier will be Nov. 24 at Waialae Country Club.
Amateurs earn points for next year’s Cup at the Maui Open later this month and the Mauna Lani Resorts Hawaii State Open, Dec. 12-14.
Gov. John A. Burns Challenge Cup
>> When: Monday and Tuesday
>> Format schedule: 7 a.m.
Monday— Alternate Shot, 11:45 a.m.
Monday–Best Ball, 7 a.m. Tuesday—Singles
>> Where: Mid-Pacific Country Club
>> History: Pros 23, Amateurs 17, 1 tie
>> Defending champions: Amateurs
