Hawaii Beat
Christel Tomori of Hilo shot a 1-under-par 71 in yesterday's final round to win the inaugural SBC Futures Golf Tour Qualifying Tournament in Lakeland, Fla., with a 72-hole score of 287. Tomori wins qualifier
for Futures TourShe and 45 other players earned Priority 1 status for the 2000 Futures Tour next season.
Tomori got off to a fast start with birdies on the second and third holes.
On the par-5 seventh hole, Tomori hit a knockdown 9-iron for her third shot to within five feet and made the putt for birdie.
Another birdie on the par-4 ninth hole from 25 feet completed her bogey-free 4-under-par front nine.
"I felt really relaxed this week," said Tomori, a Navy-Marine Golf Course employee who won the 1999 Hawaii State Open earlier this month.
"My goal was to finish in the top-10 this week and get my card, so I entered today with nothing to lose.
Julie Miyagi of Honolulu shot a final-round 78 for a 305 total and missed the cut.
Bengoecheas seven back
Aaron Bengoecheas shot a 69 yesterday and was tied for 37th place with a 54-hole score of 208 in the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament at Miami.The former Kaiser High golfer, who now plays out of San Antonio, is seven strokes behind leader Craig Bowden.
Keoke Cotner, also of Hawaii, was well back at 73-217.
The top 35 finishers and ties will gain playing cards for next year's PGA Tour.
Italy swimmers win again
Italian swimmers continued their mastery of Waikiki's waters yesterday, winning the men's and women's 3K races in the Openwater PreWorld Championships.Melissa Pasquali finished in 39 minutes and 29 seconds with an 18-second cushion over American, Erica Rose. Pasquali also won Thursday's 10K event.
Italy's Samuel Pampana and Stephano Rubado finished 1-2 in the men's event, Pampana clocking 39:24.
Going into today's final event - the 25-Kilometer swim - the Italians had earned 232 points, to 154 for the second-place Americans. Australia was third with 63. The Waikiki meet is a qualifier for the 2000 World Openwater Championships.