By Dave Donnelly
Monday, February 17, 1997
Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Brea Simpson
Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Brea Simpson
HAWAII once again was the star of the Hawaiian Open. Mainlanders in the cold and snow must have been raging with envy at the shorts-clad spectators and the gentle, wafting breezes and the bountiful shots of spectacular scenery which ABC sent their way. Unfortunately, due to network programming decisions, the national coverage had to end after the first playoff hole, with the match still undecided ... Ryan Sato, a 12-year-old Iolani student, has a new putter - well it's new to him. Former Hawaiian Open champ John Morse fairly shocked the youngster as he exited the 18th green yesterday by handing him the putter he'd been using. Ryan is taking golf lessons from Les Uyehara, so he'll have lots of chances to test it ... A guy standing at the ninth green Saturday applauded a great sand save by John Maginnes, and as the North Carolina pro was walking past asked, "Could you teach me to hit like that." Maginnes drawled, "Sure - for $100 an hour." ... Open’s airing
of isles cut shortSEVERAL people who put up big bucks got to play with a pro in the Hawaiian Open Pro-Am last week, teeing off with the likes of Paul Azinger, Tom Lehman and Craig Stadler. But you can play with a different kind of pro - as in actor - in the "Child's Play" golf tourney set for April 17 at Makaha. One of the first to sign up to play is Efrem Zimbalist Jr., star of "The FBI" TV series. The tournament, now in its 13th year, is a benefit for Child & Family Service ...
ONE final item from the Open: It was nice seeing Scott Simpson demonstrating nepotism at its finest, allowing his 14-year-old daughter, Brea, to caddy for him. And I'm not being cynical for a change - it was a great experience for her: It probably worked as a bonding time for the two of them, and I'm sure Simpson gave her a percentage of his winnings, as pros do for their caddies. In one TV interview she allowed that she doesn't offer him much advice on the course, "but I pray for him." What more could a golfer ask? ...
A COUPLE of weeks ago an item ran here about a group of Kamehameha students on the Navatek I's morning whale-watching cruise encountering a whale which had been ensnared in a net or line. The Coast Guard was called and I said the experience gave the kids "plenty of tales to tell." Well, tell them they did, in the form of 22 letters from 7th graders at the school, most signed by four or five students, urging me to tell the whole story, and not just one which put the Navatek in a favorable light. Seems three-quarters of the kids got sick. One letter read, "The floors became covered with nauseated bodies. The smell of vomit lingered through the cabin. All of a sudden the whale breached, but did we care? NO! Our strength had vanished by that time." ... Whale tale revisited
APPARENTLY the boat bobbed in the water for two hours waiting for the Coast Guard. One letter called it "horrifying" and a second "abhorrent." Another letter read, "Of course we needed to help the whale, but we needed help too and felt ignored by the crew." And more: "We don't think we'll be going to the Navatek again. It comes down to one whale and over one hundred vomiting students and teachers. What a tale we can tell." Seems like the Navatek folks might seek to make amends by offering the kids one more chance. They sound like a pretty unhappy bunch ...
TODAY is President's Day, a holiday for some lucky folks who get to sleep in - unless, of course, they live in the vicinity of Aloha Tower. This is the accursed day when a cannon is shot off in the predawn hours to start the Great Aloha Run. This year the occasion will be even more maddening than usual, since KSSK's Michael W. Perry and Larry Price decided to get things under way by broadcasting the tune you love to hate, "Macarena," in hopes that 30,000 walkers and runners will be listening to the piped in music and do that horrendous exercise through the streets of Honolulu. And so, back to bed. Zzzzzz ... Macareniacs
