Full Court Press
UH can benefit from
talented island golfersTHEY weren't lined up 30-deep around the 18th green to see the boys and girls leaders of last weekend's state high school championships walk up the final fairway. About the only people to take notice of J.T. Hamamoto's and Rachel Kyono's individual titles at Maui's Kaanapali South and the Kapalua Village courses were close family and friends. ON THE TEE
You might expect watching prep golf after a steady diet of the PGA, Senior PGA and LPGA tours would be a scene straight out of the old movie "Caddyshack." And granted, there were some scores that soared into triple digits.
But by and large, these kids wearing Nike gloves and braces were well-acquainted with competition. Hamamoto opened with a 69 to give Waiakea High's five-man team an early lead it wouldn't relinquish.
Kyono was instrumental in leading Kauai High to its first state title. Barely the size of a gimme putt, she cut her irons through the afternoon trades to blow away the competition by eight strokes. She's bound for Pepperdine in the fall.
Which leads to this obvious question: If there are so many good local players whacking golf balls islandwide, why can't the University of Hawaii programs benefit from them?
Instead, many opt for the top-flight programs in the Pac-10 and beyond.
They don't even consider the local university because the men's and women's programs have never given any indication they're willing to do what's necessary to compete nationwide.
And that's a shame.
Hawaii has everything needed to lure major talent. You can play golf here year-round. The local courses are not only among the most beautiful in the country, but are demanding enough to attract prestigious programs for local tournaments.
Case in point, Tiger Woods played on Oahu while at Stanford and hardly raised an eyebrow while he was here. If the university had an established golf program that could match the Cardinal stroke for stroke, it's likely there would have been more interest.
What's needed is for athletic department officials to realize the potential is here to have a dominant program in the Western Athletic Conference that can compete in the major collegiate events.
Yesterday, Rainbow sophomore golfer Scott Carlyle finished competing at the NCAA West Regional. Unfortunately, he had to go it alone, one of only six individual golfers in the field. In other words, he is good enough to play at that level. His team is not.
IN THE LATE 1980s, Nevada-Las Vegas athletic director Brad Rothermel hired New Mexico head coach Dwaine Knight to inspire that program.
Something of a wheeler-dealer, Knight convinced Vegas courses that college golf could be beneficial for both. He steadily built the program to national prominence, eventually winning a national championship three years ago.
There's no reason UH can't become a major player as well, based on the local talent alone. It just takes an administration willing to look from tee to green.
Paul Arnett has covered all the major golf tournaments in Hawaii, including the Mercedes Open, Grand Slam of Golf and the Sony Open. He can be reached at: parnett@starbulletin.com
Paul Arnett has been covering sports
for the Star-Bulletin since 1990.
Email Paul: parnett@starbulletin.com.