TOP SEEDED Kevin Wong and Stein Metzger advanced to today's final round of the Paul Mitchell King of the Beach tournament. Metzger, Wong
advance separatelyStar-Bulletin staff
The round-robin tournament seeds the top fourteen players based on their best three domestic tour finishes. Players are paired with different partners for every match.
Wong teamed with last year's tournament winner Mike Whitmarsh and defeated Lee LeGrande and Dax Holdren 21-19, 21-15. Wong and Whitmarsh advanced out of pool C with 2-1 records. Wong and LeGrande lost to Whitmarsh and Holdren 22-20, 21-17.
Metzger, playing with Canyon Ceman and Brent Doble on Saturday, advanced from pool D with a perfect 3-0 record. Metzger and Ceman beat Doble and Rogers 22-20, 18-21 and 15-12 in an hour long match. Then, Metzger and Doble defeated Ceman and Todd Rogers 21-14, 22-20.
Wong and Metzger are pitted against each other in today's opening match.
Smith finishes first in cross country meet
University of Hawaii senior Cheryl Smith celebrated her birthday with a first place finish at the University of San Diego Invitational.Smith led the Wahine cross country team in the 5K run with a first place time of 18-minutes, 17.9 seconds. Casey McGuire-Turcotte (4th) and Courtney Barlow ( 9th) also finished in the top ten with times of 19:11 and 19:45.
Hawaii tied San Jose State for first with 46 points in the season opener.
Madsen runs to win at Chaminade meet
Christian Madsen of Hawaii Pacific University won the Chaminade Invitational Cross Country meet with a time of 26:40.But the Brigham Young University-Hawaii men's cross-country team earned the team championship at Laie. The Seasiders had three runners in the top ten with Kyle Briggs coming in a minute and seven seconds behind Madsen for second place. Ivars Baikous and Jedediah Wheeler finished seventh and ninth.
HPU captured the women's race with 36 points as Nina Christensen, Lisa Blomme and Sayuri Kusutani finished in the top three spots. Christensen finished the 5K race with a time of 17:37.
Air Force drops BYUH in water polo match
The Brigham Young University-Hawaii's men's water polo team suffered two losses in San Diego.Air Force defeated BYU-Hawaii 14-4. Air Force scored nine goals and shut out the Seasiders in the first half. BYUH also lost 12-7 to UCSD.
But the Seasiders rebounded with a 12-6 win against La Verne. Derek Andersen poured in three goals.
Waimanalo to host polo Players Cup
The Players Cup is today at Waimanalo field at 2:30 p.m. Gates open at 1 p.m. and general admission is $3, children under 12 are free. For more information call 396-0494.
Hawaii's Own
Mike Fetters, Pirates: The Iolani graduate did not pitch in Pittsburgh's 5-2 win over Cincinati, as manager Lloyd McClendon chose to let starter Jimmy Anderson go the distance.Chris Truby, Astros: The Damien product did not play in Houston's 7-2 loss to Milwaukee.
NFL Hawaii
Kynan Forney: The former Hawaii star was the only Atlanta Falcons rookie scheduled to start in today's season-opener against the San Francisco 49ers (and former UH standout Jeff Ulbrich). Forney was taken in the seventh round of the NFL Draft in the spring after an all-WAC senior season.
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Pope named director of golf at Waikoloa
Keith Pope, who has more than 18 years of golf management experience, has been named Director of Golf at the Waikoloa Beach Resort."We are extremely pleased to have Keith join the Waikoloa ohana," said Waikoloa Land Company President Thos Rohr in a news release.
"He is an experienced PGA veteran with an impressive knowledge of the golf industry. Keith will be a tremendous asset to Waikoloa's award-winning golf program."
Pope, who most recently served as director of golf at the Legacy Golf Club in Sarasota, Fla., will be responsible for managing Waikoloa's golf operations, including the Kings' and Beach Courses.
Prior to Florida, Pope has served as director of golf at the Tamarron Resort in Durango, Colo., and at the Westin La Paloma Resort in Tucson, Ariz. He also worked at Troon North Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., where he served as the head golf professional.
A graduate of Mississippi College with a bachelor's degree in business administration, Pope is a class A member of the Professional Golfers Association and member of the Club Managers Association of America.
The Waikoloa Kings' and Beach Courses are managed by Troon Golf, the leader in upscale golf course management.
For more information on the Waikoloa Beach Resort, visit www.waikoloaresort.com or call toll free 877-WAIKOLOA.
Wailea Junior Golf Classes:
The Wailea Golf Club is offering its annual Junior Golf Class on Wednesdays beginning Sept. 12.The classes, open to all junior golfers ages 6-17, will be from 4-5:30 p.m. at the Wailea Gold & Emerald Clubhouse.
The program, also set for Sept. 19 and 26, will cover instructions on chipping, putting, pitching, full swing, etiquette and rules. The fee is $55 and registration forms are available at the Wailea Golf Club pro shop. Participants will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.
For more information, call the Wailea Golf Club at (808) 875-7450.
Benchmark Hospitality:
Benchmark Hospitality will assume management of the Turtle Bay Resort, site of this year's Turtle Bay Championship on Oct. 1-7 at the Arnold Palmer course.The management company has earmarked $35 million in renovations, including the Turtle Bay's golf courses.