Sunday, June 10, 2001
[HAWAII GOLF]
Koshi scrambles, For all the clutch putts and big irons Kellen-Floyd Asao pulled out of his golf bag this week, it was the last drive of the 93rd annual Manoa Cup that did him in.
then swims
He overcomes Asao with a
winning bogey putt at the 18th
hole for the Manoa Cup titleBy Paul Arnett
Star-BulletinDown by three at the turn, Asao stood next to Ryan Koshi on the 18th tee dead even with momentum at his back and a stiff breeze in his face. He had survived a birdie barrage by Koshi on the frontside with four of his own on the back, and was now prepared to do what older brother, Norman, could not do last year, and that's win this prestigious event.
Then came the drive.
Like many during yesterday's last round, it faded to the right. Asao had no idea his Titleist was getting well-acquainted with one of the trees guarding the right side until he walked up on it, forcing him to just punch out into the fairway.
Before deciding on this conservative approach -- he could have tried a wicked slice and hoped for the best -- Asao looked across the fairway where Koshi was having some trouble of his own.
The Maui resident's drive on the 36th hole of match play proved to be equally untrue, finding the tree-line on the left side of the fairway. The errant shot forced him to hit a low liner to the 18th green. From Asao's vantage point, it appeared to have landed closer to the clubhouse than anything else.
"I thought it was out of bounds," Asao said. "Maybe I should have tried to slice the ball around the tree. Probably it was best what I did."
What he did was pitch out, hit his third shot fat and short of the green. The blade caught a little too much grass on the fourth shot, leaving him a dozen feet shy of a bogey that wouldn't find his card.
As luck would have it, Koshi's second shot was short of the shrubs, allowing him a third that he pitched to within 25 feet of the hole. His par putt wasn't a thing of beauty, but the five-footer for bogey sure was for the 22-year-old Maui Airport worker, who finally closed the door on his Hawaii Baptist Academy opponent.
"I feel great, but I'm beat," Koshi said. "We both had some bad shots out there. It was a matter of survival. I played well on the front and he played well on the back. I felt like the 14th hole was the key because if I make that putt, it would have been a lot easier for me. It shook me up. Still, I'm glad to get the win. This is big for me."
Koshi is considered by many to be the top amateur golfer in the state and he showed that with a 32 on the frontside of the final 18 holes. He and Asao were even after the opening 18. Koshi bogeyed the first hole to fall down by one, but birdied holes four through seven and the ninth to take a three-hole advantage to the 10th tee.
"That birdie on the par-3 fourth got me started," Koshi said.
Some 20 feet above the hole and Asao poised to make a birdie of his own, Koshi rammed in the putt to send a message to the 18-year-old Asao that he heard loud and clear.
"If that putt doesn't hit the hole, it rolls off the green," Koshi said. "At that point, I felt like I could make anything."
Back-to-back birdies on the 10th and 11th holes by Asao cut Koshi's lead to one. Asao took advantage of his slice on the dogleg right 10th hole, driving the 256-yard par-4 green. His 60-foot putt for eagle grazed the hole, causing Koshi to shout, "Go in!"
He later shrugged and said, "Hey, as a golfer, you always pull for an eagle like that."
Asao gave it back by driving out of bounds on the 12th and appeared to be on the verge of elimination on the 14th, but Koshi kept the door open after missing a birdie putt from five feet that would have put him up three with four to play.
"I knew I had to do something or I was going to be eliminated," said Asao, who birdied 15 and 16 to draw even. "I didn't want to go down without a fight."
Both men parred the 17th, setting up the somewhat anticlimactic final hole. Both golfers were feeling the pressure.
"Just a little bit nervous on the last tee only," Koshi said. "I thought his ball was in the right rough, so I just tried to hit my second shot through a small opening in the trees. I wanted to fade it in, but I hit it straight. Lucky it wasn't OB. This is the hardest tournament I've won. You've got to be in shape because it's a tough course to walk."
Asao agreed.
"I was so tired after Friday's round, I didn't even talk to my brother," Asao said. "I just went home and fell asleep. I'm tired now. I blocked that last drive out a little and the wind took it, too. I think it was because I was tired. I tried to hang in there, but I lost it by one."