CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Brandon Abreu beat Kristofer Baptist yesterday and will meet 15-year-old Kurt Nino in the semifinals of the Manoa Cup today.
Teens fill Manoa semis
Abreu, Anderson, Asao and
Nino fight for the right to get
pushed into the OCC pool
Four youthful golfers inched closer to the waters of the Oahu Country Club pool by earning quarterfinal victories yesterday in the 95th Manoa Cup match play tournament.
The survivor of today's semifinals and tomorrow's final gets a celebratory push into the pool as part of a tradition that dates back to 1959.
Two of yesterday's winners -- 17-year-old Brandon Abreu and 19-year-old Kellan Anderson -- made it through grueling matches and closed out their opponents 1-up on the 18th green.
"My dad told me on Wednesday that the champion ends up in the pool and I didn't believe him at first," said Abreu, a recent Pearl City High School graduate who defeated Kristofer Baptist. "I wouldn't mind going in the pool on Saturday then, especially if it's a hot day."
Abreu, who will play for Hawaii-Hilo next season, scrambled to make par on the par-5 15th, and that may have saved his day. He remained 2-up when the 21-year-old Baptist missed a birdie putt.
Baptist, a University of San Francisco golfer and Kamehameha alumnus, birdied the 17th to go 1-down, but he bowed out by halving the 18th.
Anderson, meanwhile, had a 2-up lead on 16-year-old Hawaii Preparatory Academy golfer Burt Bonk with two holes to play.
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Burt Bonk didn't like his tee shot on the fourth yesterday. The 16-year-old fell to 19-year-old Kellan Anderson.
Amazingly, Bonk stayed alive with a 15-foot birdie chip on the par-4 17th.
"I told my caddie, who is also my coach, that I needed to sink it, and he said, 'Yeah you do,' " Bonk said. "I thought I hit it too hard, but it slowed down enough to go in the hole."
Anderson, a Leilehua alumnus and Hawaii-Hilo golfer, thought he relaxed too much with a 4-up lead after 11 holes.
"I knew he could do it (chip in), but I didn't think he would actually do it," Anderson said. "I was shocked."
Bonk needed to lob his approach over a row of trees on the par-4 18th, and he put more pressure on Anderson by landing it 6 feet from the pin.
Anderson's 20-foot birdie attempt came up one roll short, and Bonk's bid to stay in the chase went wide left.
The tournament's highest remaining seed -- No. 2 Kellen-Floyd Asao -- beat good friend Casey Watabu 3 and 2 in a battle of 19-year-olds.
Asao was 2-up after two holes and Watabu never fully recovered. The lead got as high as 4-up after eight, but Watabu made a charge by winning at the ninth, 11th and 15th holes, while losing the 13th, to go 2-down.
"I felt a little uncomfortable playing in the Manoa Cup against a friend," said Asao, a Hawaii Baptist Academy alumnus and University of Hawaii golfer. "I had a hard time talking to him because I was trying to beat him. We both made a lot of mistakes. Fortunately, mine weren't as big as his."
The match ended on the par-3 16th when Watabu missed a 6-foot par putt and Asao two-putted from 7 feet for par.
Watabu, a Kauai High School alumnus, plays for the University of Nevada.
Asao, who turns 20 tomorrow, said he planned to work on his swing after yesterday's round and then get as much rest as possible. He made it to the Manoa Cup semifinals two years ago before losing to Ryan Koshi.
Today's youngest semifinalist is Damien Memorial High School's Kurt Nino, 15, who rallied to eliminate 17-year-old Moanalua High School golfer Ryan Perez 4 and 3 yesterday.
Nino was 1-down after eight, but won five of the next seven holes.
"I struggled on the front nine, and he was hitting every green and making every putt," said Nino, who is in the semifinals for the second year in a row. "But I charged from there. As I started hitting better shots, he started getting frustrated and I took advantage of that."
Nino meets Abreu, while Asao duels Anderson in today's 36-hole semifinals. The four golfers' ages add up to 70.
About the time the players made the turn yesterday, a gentlemanly senior citizen OCC member checked the scoreboard and with a large grin said, "Oh, to be young again."
The tee times for the 36-hole final tomorrow are 7 and 11:30 a.m.
The Manoa Cup has been held every year since 1907, with the exception of the World War II years of 1942 and '43.
