Kop takes care
of employee
to move on

The 4-time winner beats
Joe Phengsavath in the third
round of the Manoa Cup

---

By Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.com

Thou shalt not beat thy boss.

If golf has one commandment, that's it.

Joe Phengsavath tried to break the game's oldest rule yesterday, but Brandan Kop wouldn't let him do it.

"He was just too tough," said Phengsavath, after Kop ousted him 3 and 2 yesterday in the third round of the Manoa Cup at the Oahu Country Club. "He's still the master."

Kop already possesses four Manoa Cup championships. He also owns the company, Kop Distributors, that employs Phengsavath.

Although the effervescent state stroke play champ joked about it plenty -- as he did when Kop beat him under similar circumstances two years ago -- Phengsavath said going up against the man who signs his paycheck didn't adversely affect his game.

"Not at all. Actually I'm used to playing with him, we have fun," Phengsavath said. "The problem was my irons. I've been struggling with them lately."

Phengsavath had his chances, but OCC is built for players like Kop -- guys who hit straight and are good around the greens, and on them.

The 41-year-old former University of Hawaii player didn't do anything spectacular. But superb chipping and solid putting helped him to a three-hole lead after the front nine.

"Brandan made his putts when he had to," said his caddy and father, Danny Kop. "When you get a little lead, you need to putt well to halve holes. Joe made some birdies, but Brandan covered them."

Kop won Nos. 8 and 9 with pars. Kop took the latter hole from Phengsavath in 2000, too -- with a hole-in-one.

"That part of the course hasn't been too kind to him," Kop said. "Today it killed his momentum."

Kop closed the match on No. 16, a 145-yard par-3. He landed his tee shot on the green, 25 feet from the hole, and lagged up to within three inches. Meanwhile, Phengsavath's first shot strayed 30 yards from the green and he ended up missing a 12-foot putt for par.

"The boss is too tough," Phengsavath said with a laugh. "I hope I at least get a raise."

Maybe he'll settle for a compliment from the boss.

"He learns fast," Kop said. "He's played golf for only five years but is already one of the best amateurs in the state."

Phengsavath turns 27 on Monday, but is as close in age to Kop as he is to the next wave of up-and-comers. Two of them -- 15-year-old Travis Toyama and 14-year-old Kurt Nino -- pushed through to today's quarterfinals.

Nino needed 19 holes to beat Randy Shibuya. His reward is to play Kop today.

Wade Nakamura also needed a sudden-death hole in his win over Gary Kong. Nakamura plays Damien Victorino, a 3 and 2 victor against Garrett Okamura.

Toyama takes on Del-Marc Fujita after toppling Kristofer Baptist 3 and 2.

Fujita beat Junior Agpaoa 1-up.

Troy Higashiyama plays Hee Beom Kim, as Higashiyama knocked off Steven Nguyen 2-up and Kim beat Shannon Tanoue 5 and 4.