GOLF REPORT
Lynch captures match play title
| Aloha Section continues to thrive after 30 years |
Advertiser Staff
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John Lynch, the 2004 Aloha Section PGA Player of the Year, won the section's Turtle Bay Match Play Championship yesterday, 2 and 1, over Mark Morrison. The tournament was played at Turtle Bay's Arnold Palmer Course.
Mike Rich won the senior title Tuesday, 4 and 2, over defending champion Dugal Milne.
Lynch was 2-up at the turn yesterday. Morrison, who works for Swing & Play the Easy Way, rallied to tie the match, but could not get up and down for par on the par-3 15th.
Lynch won that hole and they parred the next two. Lynch hit his third shot to 8 feet on the par-5 finishing hole. Morrison's approach was 25 feet away and he conceded the match when his birdie putt slid by.
"My par on the 15th was crucial," Lynch said. "Being 1-up going into the 16th and 17th — you really have to grind on those two holes — made a big difference. On the 18th, I was able to play pretty conservative. I hit a really good third shot to put pressure on him."
Lynch was in Delaware the past few months teaching and "re-connecting" with his family. He will leave again the end of this month for franchise training for GolfTec Hawai'i. He hopes to have the indoor training center, at Pi'ikoi and Kona streets, open before the end of the year.
The tournament was the fifth major of the 2006 Aloha Section season.
MIYAJIMA FIVE OFF LEAD
Maui's Shayna Miyajima shot an even-par 72 in yesterday's second round to surge into the Top 10 at the LPGA Tour's Sectional Qualifying at Venice, Fla.
Miyajima's total of 2-over 146 is five off the lead. Kailua's Bridget Dwyer (79—155) missed the cut by two shots.
The top 30 and ties after tomorrow's final round advance to the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament in Florida Nov. 29.Hamamoto advances
Hilo's Jarett Hamamoto tied for 10th at the PGA Tour Pre-Qualifying in Lutz, Fla., last week. The finish advances Hamamoto into one of 10 first-stage qualifying events in the next month.
Hamamoto shot rounds of 68-69-71-75. His 1-under-par 283 total at the TPC of Tampa Bay was 13 back of medalist Benjamin McClung. The top 43 moved on.
Hamamoto won the 2001 and 2002 state high school championships and the 2005 Hawai'i State Open. He lost the Western Athletic Conference Championship in a sudden-death playoff last season as a University of Hawai'i senior.
Matt Kodama, Hamamoto's former UH teammate, missed qualifying at the Cypresswood Golf Club in Texas. Kodama's 290 total was three off the cut.
RUDICH WINS SENIOR
Marcie Rudich won her second HSWGA Senior Women's Championship in four years, capturing the 28th annual event Monday at Barbers Point.
Rudich shot a 1-over-par 73 to beat four-time champion Mona Kim by four shots.
Kim won the C Flight (ages 58 to 63). Jade Merkle took D Flight (50-57) with a 78, with Betty Nakasone (82) winning A Flight (69-73) and Terri Lui (83) B Flight (64-68).
Winifred Jones won Championship Flight, for golfers ages 74 to 90, with a round of 89. Kahili Chong was first low net in that flight, with a 70.
BIG ISLAND OFFER
Makalei Golf Club and Waikoloa Village are offering a special Hawai'i County rate of $25 to all Big Island residents. The green fee includes cart and is restricted to golfers who present a state driver's license or state identification card showing a Big Island home address.
The county golf program has been set up in West Hawai'i in response to local demand for low-cost golf. The only municipal golf course on the Big Island is Hilo Municipal, more than an hour's drive away for most West Hawai'i residents.