[ GOLF ]
Unaffected by weather,
Wilson leads at Jennie K.
What's a little rain when you're from Hilo?
The intermittent showers that blessed the Mid-Pacific Country Club course yesterday didn't bother Amanda Wilson. Actually, nothing bothered the Waiakea High senior, except a double-bogey on No. 7 that prevented her from setting the women's course record.
Her 6-under 66 did give Wilson a four-stroke lead heading into today's second round of the 54th Jennie K. Invitational women's golf tournament. The 66 also tied the tournament record for low round, set in 1983 by Lori Castillo when par at Mid-Pac was 74.
Four others broke par yesterday, and all are in high school or younger. Defending champion Stephanie Kono, a Punahou School eighth-grader, and Kamehameha Schools junior Mari Chun were at 70, while Kauai High's Miki Ueoka and Waiakea Intermediate student Kimberly Kim shot 71s.
Kauai High's Jennie Pleas, the runner-up in this week's state high school golf tournament, was at 72. Former Hawaii women's golf coach Bobbi Kokx, winner of this event in 2000, was in seventh at 74.
"I didn't know Amanda had a 66," said Kokx, who was in Wilson's foursome. "I was paying more attention to what I was doing ... and I was scrambling.
"All I know is she had four (birdies) in a row on the back nine. She was putting them close (on the green shots) and knocking them in."
Wilson had eight birdies total, including five on the hilly back nine that led to a 31 after the turn. She strung together four in a row on Nos. 14-17 then capped her personal best with par on 18.
"My putting was on today, and I was hitting the greens," said Wilson, who finished third at the state tournament. "No. 7 was where I doubled. The wind was blowing into my face and I pulled my shot. It went over the green, then I chipped it twice."
It was her only bogey. Kono bogeyed Nos. 10 and 12 but eagled the par-5 16th to finish strong.
"I think I played pretty well on the front nine," said Kono, who shot her personal-best 66 Sunday at Mid-Pac. "I had a bad stretch on the back, hitting short every time.
"Sunday there was no wind. I had about the same amount of putts, but today I was making more putts for par and Sunday I was making more putts for birdie."
Cyd Okino, at age 10 the youngest golfer in the field, just missed her 18-foot birdie putt on 18 to finish at 84.
"My putting was off and my chipping was way off," said the Liholiho School fifth-grader.
"I thought she did pretty well for her age," said her father, Cyrus, a competitive golfer who started his daughter in the sport when she was 6. "She's played in big junior tournaments like the Junior Worlds, but this is the biggest tournament she's ever played in."
It was also the biggest for Elyse Okada, a 13-year-old eighth-grader at Maui Waena Intermediate. She carded a 6-over 78 in her first time on the course.
Two other previous champions were in the 24-player Championship Flight yesterday: 2002 winner Kira-Ann Murashige (78) and 1981 winner Bev Kim (85).