HAWAII GROWN REPORT
COURTESY OF NEW MEXICO STATE
New Mexico State golfer Lehua Wise is focusing on having a solid senior season with the Aggies before trying to qualify for the Duramed Futures Tour.
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A golfer with drive
Kauai's Lehua Wise has a series of goals that lead to the LPGA Tour
LEHUA Wise has set a number of lofty but achievable goals for herself as a senior on the New Mexico State women's golf team.
First, she wants to place in the top 10 in every tournament this fall and next spring.
Wise tied for 15th place in her first tournament and improved to a 12th-place tie Tuesday in the CU Heather Farr Memorial Invitational on the Omni Interlocken Course at Broomfield, Colo. She shot a 75-72-81--228.
"I four-putted the first hole and that wasn't a good start," Wise said. "I never gave up, but just struggled to do anything today (Tuesday). I wasn't consistent with anything."
Second, she wants to win the Western Athletic Conference championship.
The Aggies are hosting the conference tournament, so Wise will be playing at home on the 5,858-yard (women's tees) campus course.
Third, the 2003 Kauai High School graduate wants to qualify for the NCAA West Regionals. She wants to perform well enough there to earn a berth in the NCAA national tournament.
She is hopeful it will be a rewarding experience to culminate her collegiate career. That would be a solid steppingstone for her next anticipated move.
Wise then plans to take the remaining courses she needs to graduate at the end of next summer with a degree in professional golf management. Then she can pursue her next dream.
"I plan to go to the Futures Tour qualifying school in Lakeland, Fla., next fall," Wise said. "I'm not sure about the number, but I think the top 64 (qualifying-school finishers) get full-exempt cards. I want to try the pro circuit before I settle into something else. Eventually, I want to play on the LPGA Tour."
Qualifying for the Duramed Futures Tour is Nov. 7-10. The 72-hole, stroke-play event may use as many as three courses depending on the number of entries, which is capped at 312.
COURTESY OF NEW MEXICO STATE
Lehua Wise, a 2003 graduate of Kauai High School, tied for 12th place at the CU Heather Farr Memorial Invitational that ended Tuesday.
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WISE BEGAN playing golf at age 13.
"My mom and her boyfriend took up the game and she dragged me to the golf course. I just tagged along, started hitting balls, liked it and got addicted to it," Wise said.
She played four years at Kauai High School and was runner-up in the Hawaii High School Athletic Association state tournament in 2002 to Waiakea's Leah Whiting and in 2003 to Hilo's Kira-Ann Murashige.
"Of course I wanted to win and played well, but they played better," Wise said.
Wise considered Long Beach State, Washington, Arizona and Arizona State before deciding on New Mexico State.
"It was a big decision. I weighed a lot of factors. My parents weren't too excited about me going to Long Beach State," Wise said. "I liked the campus here. The town (Las Cruces) is pretty nice, laid back and small. And, we have our own golf course right on campus."
Wise enjoyed a good freshman year for the Aggies. She won the Sun Belt Conference championship and considers that the highlight of her college career so far.
"I tied a girl from Denver, but won on the first playoff hole," Wise said. "It was a dogleg left, par 4, water on the right with an elevated green. I hit my drive to the fairway. She hit into the trees. I just put my ball on the green and two-putted for par."
Her scoring average of 76.80 was the best on the team. The following year her average went up to 77.10 for 10 tournaments but fell last season to 76.59, when Wise was an All-Western Athletic Conference second-team selection.
Wise finished in the top 10 in three of 11 tournaments during her junior year. She also qualified for the West Regionals for the second time.
"I didn't play so well my sophomore year, but played really well last year. My fitness and strength improved and that has helped a lot," Wise said.
Her coach, Paul Brilliant, said, "Lehua is really consistent. We have been working on her short game, pitching and putting. She has a player's attitude, the kind of fire that gets you through but not enough fire that affects your game.
"When they get to college you usually try to kind of polish them up a little bit. Lehua is a good thinker on the course. When you play a practice round you try to pick up as many things as you can, like targets to swing at."
Wise says her putting is improving.
"I fell really good about my game right now," she said.
This spring Wise will begin the process of securing a sponsor to cover her expenses, such as the $700 entry fee and hotel costs for the Futures qualifying tournament, until she starts winning paychecks.
Notes: Also competing in the Heather Farr Memorial were Kayla Morinaga (Sacred Hearts '05), a sophomore at Portland State, who tied for sixth with a 75-69-81--225; Boise State freshman Iris Ocariza (Moanalua '06) tied for 14th with a 74-75-80--229; Kelly Nakashima (Baldwin '04), a junior at Idaho, tied for 20th with a 77-78-75--230; and Gonzaga junior Sarah Sheffield (Keaau '04) had a 78-81-88--247 to tie for 71st place.