Andrew Chin figured he was up by one and that a par on the closing hole would give him his second straight Interscholastic League of Honolulu boys golf championship.
Playing in the final twosome at the Turtle Bay Fazio Course on Wednesday, he figured correctly. About 15 minutes earlier, Chin’s Punahou teammate Evan Kawai walked off the 18th green and was indeed one stroke behind.
Chin promptly two-putted for his par on the par-4 18th to clinch it, finishing the round with a 4-under 68 to go along with the 69 he shot on Monday for a 7-under 144 total.
“Coming to the 18th, I was thinking 4 under (for the day) would be enough to win,” said Chin, a senior who is committed to play for BYU next season. “I tried to make birdie, but hit a poor first putt, so I was like, ‘I’ll just make the next one.’ ”
When the short winning putt dropped in, he got congratulations from playing partner Kengo Aoshima of ‘Iolani, who took third place at 4-under 140. A bit later, Chin did push-ups for the enjoyment of his teammates just off the 18th green with his golf bag strapped to his back.
“I’m pretty happy about (the second straight league title),” Chin said. “I wouldn’t say it’s so much about skill. It’s more determination. Everybody out here can shoot 3, 4 5, 6 under, but at the end of the day it’s who wants it the most. I don’t know if that’s true all the time, but I kind of wanted it pretty bad, so I was out there just trying to do my thing. If someone else catches me, I’ll just make sure I’ve done everything I could.”
Kawai missed his chance at the title with a three-putt bogey on No. 13.
“I was like 10 feet away and it blew by 5 feet and I missed the next putt wide coming back,” said Kawai, a junior who also had a closing 68. “Andrew is a tough guy to beat, a good competitor. He definitely showed today how steady he is.”
Aoshima, a Wake Forest commit who won the ILH crown as a freshman and placed second as a sophomore, thought Chin erred just once in the whole round.
“He stayed aggressive,” said Aoshima, who was recently named the league’s player of the year. “He didn’t make any mistakes except for (No.) 16 and misread one putt. That’s the only mistake he made. I didn’t make enough putts, didn’t really hit any good iron shots, didn’t really take care of business.”
On the 16th, Chin missed a 4-footer for par.
“I was 5 under and before the round I said I wanted to shoot 6 (under), so I was kind of like make this one and then I’ll birdie 17,” Chin said. “It was downhill and I thought it was right to left, but it was straight, and I went right edge and it just stayed there and it kind of lipped it.”
Claire Choi of Punahou topped the ILH girls competition Wednesday, ending with a 36-hole total of 3-over 147. She closed with a 71.
“I was trying to play boring golf today,” Choi, a junior, said. “I think what helped me was my putting and I didn’t finish off (the round) the best, but the last hole I birdied. The best shot I’d say was my first tee shot because I’ve been working with my driver lately and my first tee shots have been just OK so far this season. Today, it gave me a jump-start. Coming into today, I was tied for third and my original goal was to shoot 69, but I was happy I was able to shoot under par.”
Maryknoll’s Allyshia-Mae Mateo, who led after the first round with a 73, dropped off with a 76 and finished two shots back at 149. Mid-Pacific’s Myah McDonald, who was in second place after the first 18, wound up tied for fourth at 150.
