Jonathan Ota missed the green on the par-3 16th hole yesterday, but pitched on and made a long putt for a big par save.
Ota wins OCC with
his second 69 in 2 days
When Jonathan Ota saw his 25-foot downhill putt take one last turn and tumble into the cup at the 16th hole, he knew he had done more than save par.
He had won the golf tournament.
"That had to be the biggest putt of the week," he said after firing a 69 to capture the Oahu Country Club Invitational yesterday with a 1-under-par total of 212.
Ota's par-saving putt preserved his two-shot lead over Gary Kong and Clayton Gomi and allowed him to three-putt the last hole and still win.
Kong, who birdied 18, lost by a shot, finishing with a three-day total of 70--213. Gomi was another shot back at 69--214.
Ota closed with a pair of 69s in this year's OCC Invitational. During that 36-hole stretch he made 12 birdies, including four on the final nine. But it was the clutch par putt at 16 that earned him the championship.
The 42-year-old Kauai amateur had just birdied the 15th hole to take a two-shot lead. When he stepped up to the tee at the par-3 16th, however, he hit a weak tee shot that missed the green to the right, and then pitched long to the back fringe.
Kong, meanwhile, hit a beautiful approach to within 15 feet.
"I figured that if he missed his putt and I made mine, we would be all even," he said.
But it was not to be. Ota made his putt and Kong missed. "It was a dangerous putt," Ota said. "Anytime you're above the hole on this course, it's easy to three-putt.
"I knew if I missed, I wanted to leave it close to the hole."
Instead, Ota hit a perfect putt that trickled slowly toward the cup and on its last turn fell in.
Buoyed by his sudden reversal of fortune, Ota stepped up and drove the green on the 340-yard downhill 17th, rolling the ball to within 8 feet of the hole. Although he missed his eagle attempt, he made birdie and took a three-shot lead to the final hole.
"I tried to keep the ball in play this week and keep it below the hole," he said. "This is a tricky course. It's only 6,000 yards long but you have to use strategy here and hit the greens in the right areas. I'm stilling learning how to play here."
Ota began the day one shot behind second-round leader Peter Olson, who along with Kong is an OCC member. Olson knocked himself out of the tournament early on, carding a triple-bogey 7 at the par-4 third and a quadruple-bogey 7 at the par-3 ninth. He played the other 16 holes in 1 under par to finish at 77--219.
Up ahead, Gomi was having one of the day's best rounds. Trailing by four shots at the start, he was 4 under par through the first 14 holes before faltering down the stretch. At the par-5 15th, he stubbed a chip shot from just off the green and had to settle for par, then bogeyed the 16th and 18th coming in.
Kong, meanwhile, struggled with his putter. He started off poorly, three-putting the first two holes. He also double-bogeyed the par-3 11th and made another three-putt at the par-5 15th after reaching the green in two.
"At least I never gave up," he said. "I thought even par would win today, but it wasn't good enough."
Ota carded a 33 on the back nine that included birdies at 10, 12, 15 and 17. It was his first win at OCC. Earlier this year he was the low amateur at the Hawaii Pearl Open, carding a 66 in the final round to edge Michelle Wie by a shot.
Ota is a former state high school champion and won the Kauai Open in 1983. On July 23, he and Mark Chun and Neal Takara will play in the Hochi Amateur in Japan.
