[ HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS ]
Jarett Hamamoto's cold symptoms melted away in a muggy Wahiawa morning and the Waiakea senior proceeded to burn up Leilehua Golf Course in yesterday's first round of the David S. Ishii Boys State Golf Championship. Hamamoto fires 66, but
Ma is right in itBy Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.comHamamoto began defense of his state crown by shooting a 6-under 66 to take a three-stroke lead into today's final round.
Hamamoto's score tied what is believed to be the lowest score in state tournament play. Punahou's Parker McLachlin shot a 66 on the second day of the 1996 tournament to win the individual championship.
"I wasn't really thinking about the score," Hamamoto said. "I was just playing and making my way around the course. At the end I was getting kind of nervous, but I kept putting it in the fairway and trying to make my putts."
Hamamoto's round helped Waiakea take the lead in a tight race for the team championship.
The four-time defending champion Warriors recorded a team score of 290, five ahead of Iolani. Kamehameha is third at 301 with Mid-Pacific just behind at 303.
Hamamoto started his round on the 10th tee and birdied three holes on his front nine. He carded four more on the back nine, including a stretch of three in a row on his 14th, 15th and 16th holes.
He bogeyed one hole and needed just 22 putts to complete his round.
Hamamoto is within striking distance of the tournament's 36-hole record of 135 set by Punahou's Jim Seki in 1998, and he may need a similar round to hold off Iolani's Matthew Ma, who shot a 3-under-par 69 yesterday.
Ma started his round by hooking his drive off the No. 10 tee into the trees on the left. He sliced his tee shot on the next hole into the woods as well, but recovered to record the first of his seven birdies.
After making the turn at 1-over, Ma caught fire on the back nine, coming up with five birdies. He sank a 25-foot putt for birdie on the 161-yard, par-3 2nd hole to start his hot streak.
"I was in a groove," Ma said. "My putting started to come alive and I started hitting the ball a lot straighter. ... I made the putts when I needed to on the back."
Hamamoto and Ma lead a group of seven golfers who finished under-par yesterday. Mid-Pacific's Jon Ozaki is alone in third at 70. Pearl City's Brandon Abreu, Kamehameha's Christian Akau, King Kekaulike's Bryan Bangerter and Kau's Bohdan Ponce are tied at 71.
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