FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Greg Meyer shot a 74 yesterday to win the Pearl Open by a stroke over Hiroyuki Naito and Steve Schneiter.
Meyer wins Pearl Pearl Country Club, the golf course that overlooks Pearl Harbor, is a hilly layout, but yesterday it seemed more like a roller-coaster to Greg Meyer.
on home course
He survives a bad approach on
the final hole to win by a shotBy Grady Timmons
Special to the Star-BulletinMeyer, who was born in Hilo and plays the Japan PGA Tour, took a two-shot lead into the final nine of the Hawaii Pearl Open, then proceeded to drop five shots to par in the next four holes before rallying with a birdie at 14, an eagle at 17 and a scrambling par at 18 to eke out a one-shot victory over pros Hiroyuki Naito of Japan and Steve Schneiter of Utah.
Meyer's final-round 74 wasn't pretty, but it got the job done. His 7-under-par total of 68-67-74--209 was a shade better than Naito and Schneiter, both of whom posted identical rounds of 72-66-72--210.
"I just tried to hang in there," said Meyer, who double-bogeyed the 10th and 13th holes. "I figured that if I can make double bogey, so can they. With five holes left, I knew a lot could happen. I just tried to stay positive and keep a good frame of mind. Fortunately, it worked out."
Meyer began the day leading Naito and Schneiter by three, and still led by two when he made the turn. But at 10 he hit into the trees and was penalized a stroke for an unplayable lie, then three-putted for his first double bogey.
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Thirteen-year-old Michelle Wie shot a 77 yesterday to finish at 224 and in a tie for 43rd place.
He followed that up with a bogey at the par-5 12th, blowing a 4-footer for par after Naito dropped a 15-footer to save his. At the par-3 13th he left his tee shot short of the green, pitched long and three-putted for his second double bogey. At that point, he trailed Naito by three.
A birdie at 14 brought him back within two, and when Naito bogeyed 16, overshooting the green, his lead over Meyer and Schneiter was just one.
At 17, the Japanese pro busted a drive, leaving himself with only a 9-iron approach into the green. But the shot came up short, in a bunker, and Naito blasted long. "Using the 9-iron was a mistake," he said. "And my lie in the bunker was hard. I couldn't spin the ball."
Naito had to settle for par. Schneiter, meanwhile, rolled in a 45-footer for birdie, only to have Meyer cover him with a 40-footer for eagle. "That eagle putt was big, really big," said Meyer, who then walked to the final tee with a one-shot lead.
At 18, after all three golfers had driven safely, Schneiter stuck his approach shot within 6 feet of the flag. Hitting next, Meyer chunked his wedge shot, leaving it short of the green. Suddenly, the lead he had worked so hard to regain, looked as if it might once again slip away.
FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Greg Meyer blasted out of the bunker onto the 12th green yesterday.
But Meyer steadied himself and pitched to within 4 feet. When Schneiter missed his 6-footer for birdie (Naito two-putted for par from 20 feet), Meyer stepped up and made his par putt for the win.
Said Schneiter, "Coming down that last hole I knew I had to make birdie. If I had holed that last putt, it would have put a lot more pressure on him"
Meyer said it wasn't the first time he has flubbed his approach shot at 18. "I've done it so many times that David Ishii (the director of golf at Pearl Country Club) says I should become the spokesman for Campbell's 'Chunky' chicken soup."
The victory marked the third time that Meyer, a former Pearl Country Club pro, has won this event (he also won in 1987 and 1988), and it earned him a $12,000 first-place check and round-trip airfare for two between Hawaii and Japan.
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Hiroyuki Naito watched this drive off the 14th tee. He finished in a tie for second with Steve Schneiter.
He now heads back for the Japan PGA Tour season. He finished 47th on the money list last year and hopes to improve on that in 2003. "If I can get play well early in Japan and secure my tour card, I'd like to go to 'Q' School in the U.S. next fall," he said. "I just found out last week that my wife is six weeks pregnant, so this is a good start for us."
Among the other top finishers at the Pearl Open were Takemori Hiraishi (67), Yui Ueda (71), Hidemasa Hoshino (72) and defending champion Kiyoshi Murota (73), all of whom finished at 4-under-par 212. Hawaii's Norman Ganin Asao was the top amateur, at 73-218. Thirteen year-old female golfer Michelle Wie of Punahou School finished at 77-224.
Hawaii Pearl Open
