Sports Watch
THEY might not necessarily be on a collision course - or on the same golf course for that matter - but there's no question that the two hottest golfers in Hawaii right now are professional Greg Meyer and amateur Regan Lee. GOLF WATCH
Meyer, Lee are Hawaii’s
hottest golfersLee, who recently qualified to play in the U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach, Aug. 16-22, won the State Amateur Championship and played in the National Publinx Championship
Meyer won four tournaments locally - the AT&T Aloha Section PGA Stroke Play Championship this week at Mauna Kea, and also the Mid-Pacific Open, the GTE Hall of Fame and the Sports Shinko Rainbow Open.
He's doing it all with an aching back. "Maybe it's helping me to concentrate more and not swing as hard," Meyer said.
"I'm playing more. Plus, I know I'm not getting a steady paycheck, so I know I've got to play better. So I know I've got to go out and earn it," added Meyer, who's taking a leave of absence from the Pearl Country Club.
Meyer, who'll leave soon to play in several Japan PGA tournaments, hopes to return for the Aloha Section PGA Match Play Championship at Wailea in September. He'll definitely play in the Callaway State Open in October.
The top point-getter in the six Aloha Section PGA major tournaments gets an exempt spot in the 2000 Sony Open in Hawaii next January.
STEVIE WONDER: I feel Steve Veriato's pain.
The Big Island native is a Monday Qualifier for Senior PGA Tour events. That is, he tries to qualify for one of the four spots at each tournament on Mondays.
The odds, obviously, are against him. Still, once he qualifies, he has had fairly good success. In eight events this year, he has earned $59,007 - an average paycheck of $9,497 each time he gets to play.
Monday Qualifiers, though, run into a real Catch-22 situation.
If they qualify for an event, make the cut and play on Sunday, they rarely have time to hustle over to the next stop to qualify for the next tournament.
Veriato's two best outings have been in the EMC Kaanapali Senior Classic, finishing tied for fifth last year and third in 1996. He had to qualify on a Monday each time. He didn't qualify in 1997.
Here's hoping that Veriato can get a sponsor's exemption this time.
SUPER DAVE: One guy who won't need any exemption is Dave Eichelberger, who won two tournaments in one year for the first time in his career.
The first was a biggie, the U.S. Senior Open, and the second, the Novell Utah Showdown last week.
Eichelberger officially submitted his entry to the Kaanapali Classic, Oct. 22-24. But he's no malihini.
Not many might know that Eichelberger, a native of Waco, Texas, is a member of the Oahu Country Club and is married to a local wahine. They're parents of twins who'll be 2 years old during Kaanapali week.
DRIVING FOR DOUGH: In golf, maybe the short game is where it's at. But any golfer I know would like nothing better than to boom 300-yard drives, a la Tiger Woods.
That's why the State Long Drive Contest, tomorrow at Turtle Bay, holds a fascination for all of us.
Tommy Kim will be defending his state title. The top two finishers will represent Hawaii in the national finals in Mesquite, Nev., in October.
