[ PRO-JUNIOR GOLF CHALLENGE ]
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Kellen Watabu reacted to a missed putt yesterday as his partner, Jerry Kelly, looked on.
Watabu teams up
with Kelly to card
a victoryThe Kauai High golfer and
the former Sony Open champ
win the pro-junior challenge
Eventual First Hawaiian Bank's Pro-Junior Challenge winner Kellen Watabu was ecstatic with the day's turn of events. And that was before the contest even began.
"Jerry Kelly," said the 15-year-old Kauai High School student. "He is the man. And I hope he wins this weekend. He is unreal."
Watabu was familiar with Kelly as the 2002 Sony Open in Hawaii champion.
"That's why, when I got paired up with him, I knew he was super cool and I was like, 'Yeah! Jerry Kelly, brah.' "
Watabu was even happier late yesterday afternoon, when Kelly sank a 3-foot putt to seal the win and give the teammates this year's Pro-Junior Golf Challenge. The duo finished at even par in the six-hole tournament.
The format pairs six of Hawaii's top junior golfers with visiting pros in town to play in the Sony Open. Pro and junior golfers alternate shots and the team with the lowest score earns a $5,000 purse for the professional to take home. The five runners-up get $1,600 each.
Kelly and the other pros donated the prize money to the Hawaii State Junior Golf Association, to go with the $12,000 First Hawaiian Bank gives to the organization as the juniors' purse.
For his part, Kelly was equally happy with the teammate he'd drawn.
"He could stand up to the pressure really well," Kelly said. "I couldn't do some of the things that he could do. ... I don't think I could have done that. Certainly not at his age. It was pretty impressive."
Kelly and Watabu held off another Kauai High golfer, Allan Baab, paired up with PGA Tour pro Chris Riley. Baab and Riley finished at 1 over, a stroke off the lead.
"Always, me and him battle it out," Watabu said of Baab.
"It was great," Baab said. "I had a good time. It was like a once-in-a-lifetime chance, so I had fun and I loved it."
The two are looking forward to the high school season, as the Red Raiders return every player from a team that finished second in the state last year. And this time the state championship is on Kauai.
"We're waiting," Watabu said.
Pro Jeff Sluman and Mid-Pacific Institute student Travis Toyama -- who sank the winning putt last year to take the tournament with Tom Lehman -- were 2 over, as were Paul Azinger and Sony Open sponsor's exemption Michelle Wie of Punahou. Former Masters champion Vijay Singh paired with former Jennie K. champion Stephanie Kono of Punahou to finish 3 over.
Lehman and Kamehameha Schools scholar athlete Mari Chun were 4 over.
The large crowd lining the ropes included eight busloads of young schoolchildren (from four public schools and four private schools), brought in to see the tournament. Afterward, many of them asked Watabu for his autograph.
