[ GOLF ]
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Michelle Wie shot an even-par 72 yesterday for a final score of 2 under at the Hawaii Pearl Open.
Meyer repeats at Pearl;
Wie finishes tied for 38th
Most golfers would call in sick and file an insurance claim if their clubs were stolen on the eve of a major golf tournament.
But not Greg Meyer.
"I put it out of my mind and tried not to dwell on it," said the Hilo-born golf professional who now plays in Japan. Instead, he went out and won the $80,000 Hawaii Pearl Open with borrowed clubs, dropping a 10-foot birdie putt on the final green yesterday to close with a 67 (203), 13 under par for the three-day event.
In so doing, Meyer successfully defended the title he won last year at the hilly Pearl Country Club. It was the fourth time he has won this event and the second time he has produced back-to-back victories, his earlier wins coming in 1987 and 1988.
Meyer finished two shots ahead of second-round leader Kiyoshi Murota of Japan, another two-time winner of this event. Murota carded a final-round 72 (205). Fellow Japanese professionals Hiroya Kamide (66) and Hisashi Sawada (67) tied for third with Minnesota pro Don Berry (71) at 10-under 206.
Kauai's Jonathan Ota fired a 66 (211) to edge teenage sensation Michelle Wie for low amateur honors. Wie shot even-par 72 yesterday to finish at 2-under 214. In a starting field of 192 golfers, including 52 amateurs and 140 professionals from Japan, Hawaii and the U.S. mainland, the 14-year-old female finished in a tie for 38th.
"Anytime you play against Michelle you have to play your best to beat her," said Ota. "I had the best round I've ever had here at Pearl Country Club. I was fortunate to come out on top."
Last Wednesday evening three sets of clubs were stolen from Meyer's garage, but the 42-year-old golfer did not allow the handicap of using borrowed clubs derail him. Indeed, during a final round that saw several turning points, Meyer made his own luck, rolling in five birdies and an eagle en route to claiming the $12,000 first prize.
He earned yesterday's victory on the same holes that almost proved to be his undoing last year. In the 2003 event, Meyer made the turn with a one-shot lead and then proceeded to go 5 over par on the next four holes, before a strong closing rush.
Yesterday, he trailed Murota and Berry by a shot at the turn, and then went birdie, birdie, eagle, draining a 40-footer at the par-5 12th to take a three-shot lead that he never gave up.
Said Meyer. "At that point, I just told myself, 'This is your tournament to win. Just keep playing the way you're playing. Don't do anything silly. Just keeping making pars and birdies because the pressure is really on them.' All I had to do was par in."
Meyer began the day trailing Murota by three and Berry by one. Murota proceeded to extend his lead with birdies at the first and third holes. At that point it looked to be his tournament, but at the par-5 fifth he uncharacteristically pulled his second shot left of the green and watched as his ball kicked out of bounds.
Despite the two-stroke penalty, Murota managed to make bogey but still lost two shots to Meyer, who birdied the same hole.
"When Kiyoshi hit it O.B. it really changed the complexion of the tournament because it let a whole bunch of guys back in," said Meyer. "It was really unfortunate for him, but fortunate for the rest of us."
Murota continued to leak oil, making two more bogeys at seven and eight, but was still tied for the lead with Berry and one ahead of Meyer as the final threesome made the turn.
That's when the Hilo golfer put his game into overdrive with two birdies and an eagle.
But Meyer's victory did not come without one final scare. At the short par-5 17th he three-putted from 15 feet, allowing Murota, who dropped a 10-footer for birdie, to pull within one.
That set the stage for Meyer's closing birdie at 18, where he lofted a wedge from the right rough, over a bunker to within 10 feet of the hole.
"I told myself, 'You've got to learn to close it, and close it good. ... If someone else is going to win, they're going to have to produce the birdies,' " he said.
Meyer, who worked as a pro at Pearl Country Club from 1984 to 1998, is a member of the Japan Golf Tour Organization. He placed 76th on the 2003 JGTO money list.
A number of other Hawaii golfers also fared well yesterday. Professional Norman Asao tied for sixth at 69 (207). Pearl Country Club host pro David Ishii, 71 (211), tied for 20th with Ota, Shane Hoshino (71) and former Punahou stars Jim Seki (69) and Parker McLachlin (71). Hilo's Keven Hayashi was another shot back at 72 (212).
