CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Brandon Abreu prematurely celebrated a missed putt on No. 9 yesterday in the Manoa Cup semifinals. Abreu fell to Kurt Nino.
Manoa Cup final
today pits Nino vs. Asao
On the exhausting fifth day of the 95th Manoa Cup, Kurt Nino had a little something extra in his step and in his short game.
It couldn't have been just his young legs. All four of the semifinalists yesterday were teenagers, but Nino, 15, was the only one who wasn't walking the golf course during a warm and breezy afternoon at the Oahu Country Club. He preferred to jog up the hills.
Perhaps the Damien Memorial High School student was anxious to close out the 5-up lead he built after two birdies and an eagle in the morning round. He ended the afternoon round early by defeating 17-year-old Brandon Abreu 6 and 5. Nino faces second-seeded Kellen-Floyd Asao, who won the battle of the college players by beating 19-year-old Kellan Anderson 5 and 3.
Nino reached the semifinals a year ago before succumbing to Travis Toyama. He says the difference between now and then is his endurance and better putting.
"I prepared (for this year) by getting stronger. Last year, I got tired by the semifinals," Nino said. "This year, I'm not too tired. I'm still tired, but my stamina is a lot better.
"I paced myself today. I just played well. He made a move in the back nine (in the morning). He got to 4-down, but he faltered, so I took advantage of it.
"My short game (was going well). I didn't hit my irons too well. Last year my short game was really bad. This year it's the total opposite. My short game is a lot better than my long game."
Should Nino win today, he would be the youngest victor in Manoa Cup history by a month. Toyama was also 15 when he won last year, but Nino has a later birthday.
After concluding his match early, Nino watched a bit of the other semifinal between Asao and Anderson and got his wish to face Asao in the final today.
Asao's birthday wish (he turns 20 today) is to break through for a victory. The 2001 Manoa Cup finalist is the highest remaining seed in the tournament and played like it yesterday. Asao was also 5-up after the morning round with four birdies.
He took four of the first six holes and fended off a persistent Anderson when his lead was whittled down to 1-up. Asao won four of the last five, including the final three holes of the morning to go 5-up.
"I got lucky out there today," said Asao. "Kellan was putting well, too. I was thinking my lead was pretty big, but he was hacking away at my lead. ... I like to gamble. I like to go for pins. I like to charge putts. It kind of hurts me in stroke play, but I like to do it in match play."
The gambling seemed to work.
Asao didn't cool off much from an incredible morning round. He put the pressure on Anderson in the afternoon after chipping in on the par-4 fifth for eagle. Asao pumped his fist after the ball bounced into the cup, but the match wasn't over.
Anderson wasn't discouraged by the eagle. The freshman from Hawaii-Hilo has won the hard way all week. Anderson won 1-up on Thursday and played with composure yesterday despite being as much as 7-down after 27 holes.
"I knew I could come back and make a small turnaround," he said.
The Leilehua High School alumnus did turn things around, somewhat. Anderson won three of the next four holes. He started with a birdie on the par-4 10th hole, he halved the 11th and won the 12th and 13th.
Asao started to feel a bit of anger after watching part of his lead disappear. But he blocked it out and sank a beautiful 15-foot putt for birdie that rolled downhill and curved in on the 14th hole. Anderson stayed alive by calmly making a 12-foot putt to halve the hole. But he ran out of lives when he bogeyed the par-5 15th.
"My driver gave away a couple of holes. I hit one over. On 18 (in the morning), I hit one into the hazard bin. Off the tee, I wasn't too good today."
Today's 36-hole final begins at 7 a.m.
