KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Punahou's Lindsay Hong won the ILH golf title yesterday with a 146, beating Iolani's Stacie Nishimoto by three strokes.
Toyama, Hong capture
ILH golf championships
Masa Toyama started coaching his son Travis around golf courses when the youngster was 8 years old. So he recognized the look Travis shot him during yesterday's final round of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu championship at the Makaha Resort's West Course.
"In the beginning he looked a little tense and I was going to talk to him on the fourth hole, and he was kind of like, 'stay away,' " said Masa Toyama, who also coaches the University High golf team.
"He knew what he was doing and he was trying to work it out and I thought that was the best thing, to just let him go."
Travis, a University junior, rewarded his father's trust by carding three consecutive birdies mid-way through the round and finishing at 2-under-par 70 to claim the ILH boys individual title. He finished with a two-day total of 139 to pull away from Kamehameha's Chris Souza and Saint Louis' Walter Ching, who finished second at 145.
"It feels good, but the main thing is my game is consistent right now and I'm playing well," Toyama said.
Punahou junior Lindsay Hong, who finished second in the ILH finals the last two years, overcame a two-stroke deficit entering the day to win the girls crown. She finished at even-par 72 yesterday and posted a total of 146 in the tournament. Iolani's Stacie Nishimoto came in second at 149.
"It's pretty good because this was my best score of the season," Hong said. "It finally came together."
Toyama started the day tied with Souza and Punahou's Lenn Akamine after the trio carded rounds of 69 in Monday's first round at Oahu Country Club.
Toyama bogeyed the second and fourth holes, but began to find his groove with a birdie at the ninth hole to give him a one-stroke lead over Akamine.
"He looked like he picked up his confidence on nine," his father said. "He always finds a way to get through the rough areas and find out what he's doing wrong throughout the round."
Toyama and Hong take the momentum of their league titles into the upcoming David S. Ishii state tournaments on the Big Island.
