Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
Monday, April 17, 2000
It wasn't so much that Beau Yokomoto put pressure on Casey Nakama in the ever-changing final round of the 37th annual Mid-Pacific Open. It was more a case of Nakama letting things slip away on the back nine of the $25,000 local golf event.
Nakama walked off the seventh hole with a commanding four-shot lead over Yokomoto. The wind was way up and the rain was coming down hard enough to make a comeback seem unlikely.
But as the bad weather passed through, Nakama began to blow his lead with a four-putt on the par-3 12th and four consecutive bogeys on the last four holes to allow the steady Yokomoto to win his first Mid-Pac Open.
His final round 72 put the Kahuku High graduate 1-over for the four-day tournament to beat Nakama by two shots. Nakama shot a 42 on the backside en route to a final round 77 that left him in second with a 3-over 291.
Kevin Hayashi also shot a final round of 72 to finish in third with a 5-over 293. Eight-time Mid-Pac Open winner Lance Suzuki, Jay Shannon and Jerry Mullen finished in a tie for fourth with 6-over totals of 294.
"It was just one of those days," said Nakama, who missed four 6-footers for par on the back side. "In 1996 when I won, I played the last four holes rock solid. Nobody could make a move.
"I wasn't making birdies, I was just making pars. But I wasn't able to do that this time around and Beau came through. Give him credit. He was steady."
That Yokomoto was. These days, Yokomoto spends part of his life toiling away on the Canadian Tour. It's not quite the caliber of the Nike Tour and is a good distance from those playing on the PGA Tour.
But the fire still burns bright for Yokomoto that maybe one day he can get his game in that kind of shape. He pocketed $6,000 with the win and was congratulated by his wife, Cindy, who followed him every step of the way.
"I was just playing my game because the conditions were rough," Yokomoto said. "It was just a matter of staying patient because of the conditions and getting the birdies when you can.
"I played the last two rounds with two guys who already knew what it took to win this tournament," Yokomoto said of Nakama and Suzuki. "There's no secret. It's just playing golf and trying to stay within yourself."
Some 228 professionals and amateurs tried to follow that formula when they teed it up on Thursday. Only 64 survived to play the final two rounds. The top amateur finisher was Ryan Koshi. He turned in a final round 74 to finish 9-over for the tourney.
"It was tough going out there for everybody," tournament director Don Harada said. The chiropractor not only made sure the four-day event went smoothly, he also helped Yokomoto deal with his sore back after each round.
"I just tried to concentrate on myself," Yokomoto said. "Casey is a good friend. We both work with juniors out at his place; help them out on Saturdays.
"It's tough to play against your friends. But you really need to just focus on your own game because the course is set up where it can get you any time if you're not careful."
Nakama can testify to that. Even after he four-putted on the 12th, he still managed to right the ship to par the next two holes.
But the wheels came off, starting with No. 15. Yokomoto drew even on the par-5 16th. He birdied from five feet and Nakama bogeyed from six.
"That was the difference in the tournament right there," Nakama said. "That two-shot swing was a mental error. My third shot rolled off the green and he put his in there real close. That was the end right there."
At Mid-Pacific Country Club MID-PACIFIC OPEN
Final round leaders, par-72
Pro flight
Beau Yokomoto -- 73-68-76-72--289
Casey Nakama -- 72-73-69-77--291
Kevin Hayashi -- 75-70-76-72--293
Jay Shannon -- 74-74-72-74--294
Neil Simms -- 72-76-74-72--294
Lance Suzuki -- 73-69-78-74--294
Mark Takahama -- 72-75-79-68--294
Jerry Mullen -- 75-74-75-71--295
Brian Sasada -- 75-77-71-73--296
Jeff Ferry -- 78-71-77-71--297
Reynold Lee -- 74-75-74-74--297
Keith Kollmeyer -- 79-70-76-74--299
Daryl Inaba -- 76-72-78-74--300
Damien Jamila -- 75-73-74-78--300
Stan Souza -- 74-77-77-74--302
Philip Chun -- 74-76-79-74--303
Larry Stubblefield -- 77-76-72-78--303
Kevin Carll -- 80-74-77-73--304
Deron Doi -- 77-75-76-76--304
Tommy Ukauka -- 75-76-76-77--304
Championship flight
Ryan Koshi -- 74-77-72-75--298
Van Wright -- 78-71-79-72--300
Phillip Anamizu -- 79-72-80-74--305
Randy Creighton -- 81-74-78-73--306
Louie Lee -- 77-76-78-77--308
Shigeru Matsui -- 75-77-81-75--308
Mike Ukauka -- 75-79-78-77--309
Al Bello -- 74-79-77-82--312
Shigeru Kashiwatani -- 81-78-78-75--312
Yukisasu Okunobu -- 76-79-78-79--312
Shannon Sibayan -- 80-79-74-79--312
Paul Kimura -- 72-80-82-79--313
Michael Kawate -- 77-78-80-79--314
Joe Phengsavath -- 82-74-81-77--314
Brandan Kop -- 77-79-80-79--315
David Yasumura -- 83-73-80-79--315
Daryl Wilkins -- 78-78-83-77--316
Yuji Koyama -- 82-76-78-81--317
Jarret Young -- 74-80-80-83--317
Ryan Nakata -- 80-78-81-79--318
Barry Schnabel -- 81-79-81-77--318
A flight
Norman Inouye -- 79-79-77-78--313
Joseph Carpenito -- 79-82-77-82--320
Jim Cullen -- 82-80-80-78--320
Kenny Goo -- 82-80-78-80--320
Lin Akiyama -- 81-79-79-82--321
Blaine Kimura -- 81-78-80-82--321
Steven Butala -- 84-82-78-78--322
Bryant Akisada -- 80-78-87-81--326
Hiroshi Kimura -- 82-82-85-77--326
Christopher Quinn -- 82-80-83-81--326
David Long -- 81-78-86-82--327
Edwin Yokoyama -- 77-77-83-90--327
Dino Arado -- 80-84-84-80--328
Casey Kobashigawa -- 78-77-88-85--328
James Nam -- 82-80-80-86--328
Hideo Noguchi -- 85-82-83-79--329
Larry Creighton -- 80-84-88-78--330
Sid Fernandez -- 82-80-87-81--330
Ralph Horii -- 83-82-81-86--332
Richard Hue -- 81-83-88-82--334
James Swoish -- 80-82-85-87--334
B flight
Ron Kimura86-79-81-83--329
Clayton Nishimoto83-77-89-81--330
Arnie Baptiste84-83-81-83--331
Don Miyashita79-80-90-84--333
Paul Cunney79-80-91-85--335
Fred Morinaka80-85-82-88--335
Wayne Akamine91-82-86-82--337
Bryan Shinsato83-86-86-82--337
Russell Gaza87-82-81-89--339
Kuakapu Hewett85-86-88-80--339
Duy Ho90-84-84-81--339
Wendell Chong83-90-89-79--341
Hideaki Sakagami81-84-93-83--341
Bob Christenson82-87-87-85--343
Thomas Kennedy88-83-87-85--343
Clarence Neves87-86-87-83--343
Glenn Ikei82-84-87-91--344
Bill McRoberts86-86-86-86--344
Clifford Nishikawa88-83-88-85--344
Raymond Schab86-84-84-91--345
