CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM Will Yanagisawa shook hands with Tetsuji Hiratsuka after beating him in a playoff to win the Hawaii Pearl Open yesterday.

Eagle sets stage
for Yanagisawa

Will Yanagisawa had a hunch it might be his turn to win when he eagled the first hole yesterday at the Pearl Country Club.

Eighteen holes later he tapped in a short par putt on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to capture the 2005 Hawaii Pearl Open.

Yanagisawa, a 33-year-old touring pro from California, edged Tetsuji Hiratsuka, a 33-year-old touring pro from Japan, after the two had finished regulation deadlocked at 14-under 200.

In the playoff, Hiratsuka, who posted a blistering final-round 64, made his only mistake of the day, driving left into the trees and into jail at the par-4 18th, the first hole of sudden death.

The miscue cost him a bogey and the tournament after Yanagisawa lofted a short approach from the right rough to within 15 feet.

For Yanagisawa, the win was well-earned and worth $12,000. He played three nearly flawless days of golf, incurring only one bogey en route to rounds of 65, 66 and 69. He also made a number of key putts, but none more dramatic than the one he made yesterday on the par-5 opening hole, where he launched a 260-yard fairway wood onto the front edge of the putting surface.

"I really didn't think I could even get it to the green," he said of the approach, "but it managed to bounce onto the putting surface, and from there I must have made a 60-footer for eagle. It's always nice to get one of those to go in early in the round. It really set up my day and got me going."

Yanagisawa began the day with a one-shot lead over former Punahou golfer Parker McLachlin and Minnesota pro Don Berry, and never relinquished that lead thanks to his opening eagle.

McLachlin, who is now playing the Spanos Tour in San Diego along with Yanagisawa, saw his hopes for a title dashed when he pumped two shots out of bounds at the short, par-4 seventh.

His first shot, a 4-iron that he pulled left, landed just 4 inches outside the markers and buried into a muddy slope. His ensuing shot, this time with a driver, went out-of-bounds right.

The two errors netted him a triple-bogey seven from which he was never able to recover, finishing in a tie for seventh at 74--206.

That left Yanagisawa and Berry in what appeared to be a two-man duel. Berry, 41, is the director of golf at the Edinburgh USA Golf Club in Minnesota. He is an 11-time Minnesota PGA Sectional Player of the Year, as well as the 2002 National PGA Club Pro of the Year.

For 15 holes, he gave Yanagisawa all he could handle. He birdied the first, third and fifth to remain within a shot of Yanagisawa (who also birdied the par-5 fifth) and he thought he had pulled even when he stuck his approach at the par-4 11th to within 2 feet.

"It was pretty much a kick-in putt," Yanagisawa said. "I had about a 25-footer for birdie and I thought, 'Well, this one has to go in. I don't want to give him any air.' "

And in it went, preserving Yanagisawa's one-shot lead.

Five holes later, Berry exited from the chase when he found the pond at the par-3 16th and made double bogey. He finished in a tie for third at 71--203 along with Japanese professional Tatsuya Tanioka (66) and 2004 Hawaii State Open champion Chad Saladin (67).

On the 17th tee, Yanagisawa, who was 14 under at the time, was told that the best score in the clubhouse was 11 under. Moments later, however, after he had hit his approach into a grove of palm trees short of the par-5 17th green, he learned that Hiratsuka, an 11-year veteran of the Japan PGA Tour, had birdied three of his final four holes and was in at 14 under.

"I was thinking of pitching the ball out sideways from the trees at the 17th," he said, "but then I thought, 'I'm not going to get another chance at winning this.' So I decided to go for it and hit it through an opening in the trees. I was trying to skip the ball through the front bunker -- and I almost pulled if off."

Although Yanagisawa's ball found the sand, he exploded to within 8 feet and made a clutch par putt to preserve his 14 under score. When he lipped out a 10-footer for birdie at 18, the playoff was on.

Yanagisawa is no stranger to island golf. This was his fifth time playing in the Hawaii Pearl Open, his best previous finish being a tie for 12th in 2003. He is a former Stanford golfer who played on an NCAA championship team with Notah Begay and Casey Martin. He also played with Tiger Woods during his senior season with the Cardinal.

Since then, he has played the Asian, Canadian and Japan Challenge tours, as well as several U.S. mini-tours.

Other notable finishers yesterday included four-time champion Greg Meyer, who finished at 73--208. He was tied for 17th with Sakura, the 19-year-old female sensation from Japan, who carded three remarkable rounds of 67-70-71--208.