[ SONY OPEN ]
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Caddie Stan Kua and David Ishii studied a putt on the 18th green at the Sony Open yesterday at Waialae Country Club. Ishii shot a 66 to tie for third.
Ishii’s 66 tops
list of island
entrantsThe former Hawaiian Open
champion shoots 4 under to tie
for third in the first round
Of the eight local golfers taking part at the $4.8 million Sony Open in Hawaii, not many figured David Ishii would have island-chain bragging rights.
Granted, the director of golf at the Pearl Country Club has had the most success in this tournament through the years. He won the Hawaiian Open in 1990 and has been a regular at the Waialae Country Club ever since.
But even the 48-year-old was a little surprised by the 66 he managed during the opening round of this first full-field event on the PGA Tour. Playing in the group in front of Michelle Wie and Hilo resident Kevin Hayashi, Ishii quietly fired his 4-under round to find himself tied for third with five other golfers. He trails leader Carlos Franco by three shots.
"(My position) is great," Ishii said. "Totally unexpected. I'm just going out there trying. I practiced here and I've been playing almost every day the last week. I've been hitting most of the fairways off the tee. But my irons weren't as good as it was maybe 10, 15 years ago.
"The last couple of days, it's gotten a lot better. I just hope I can have another good day tomorrow and get past the 36-hole cut and from there, it's all gravy. It's a lot of fun. Out here, you need to have two good rounds. You can't have one good round and just go to sleep on the next day. It's good to have a good start."
His was better than most, including his six fellow island boys and one girl in Wie. Over the years, Ishii hasn't had a lot of dealings with Wie, but conceded her family has the 14-year-old amateur well in hand. Among the local golfers, she had the third-best round at 72.
She needs to shoot at least 2 under today to have an outside shot at making the cut. At this point, it's projected at even par. Wie's playing partner was Hayashi, who drove the ball well, but had trouble on the greens. He sought advice from fellow island boy Dean Wilson, who was one of Annika Sorenstam's playing partners when she competed at Colonial.
Wilson earned his tour card last year, but missed the cut at the Sony Open with a 3-over 143. He'll need to come out strong today to offset the 3-over 73 he shot yesterday. Who would have thought Wie would shoot one stroke better than the former BYU golfer?
Hayashi was another two shots back at 5-over 75. While he helped steady Wie during her round, he wasn't able to control his own brand of nervousness.
"I know Uncle Kevin very well and Craig Bowden (even-par 70) was very nice," Wie said. "I was just awestruck that I'm here playing. I always follow and then I'm like: 'Someday, you're going to be here.' Uncle Kevin was like, 'You're going to be here next year.' And I am. So it was great."
Wie is the youngest in the local group. The oldest at 60 is Oahu Country Club member Dave Eichelberger, who moved his family here last August. As you might expect, Eichelberger had the worst round at 9-over 79, but said he was just getting into shape for next week's MasterCard Championship on the Big Island.
He made the Sony Open by qualifying on Monday.
Kauai's Ron Castillo Jr. had the second-best round among the local golfers. Teeing up on the back nine first, Castillo quickly went to 3 under at the turn, but had a pair of bogeys to fall to 69 for the day. Still, he's in contention, some six strokes off the pace.
Fellow Kauai resident Jonathan Ota is the other amateur in the field. He finished with a 74, while Hilo native Greg Meyer came home with a 74 as well. He is currently playing on the Japanese tour.
Ishii is hoping like Eichelberger that he can make a living on the senior circuit. Last year, he didn't have a single competitive round in the 60s, so yesterday's 4-under 66 was a good sign.
"I hope I can play like this," Ishii said. "I've been trying to make that as a goal, to try to improve by the time I get to 50, and this is a good start."
