Kim leads Waiakea
to state golf title

The junior holds off several
challengers to win the crown

KAHULUI » For Christine Kim, it was a case of win and run.

Shortly after firing a final-round 75 yesterday for a 153 total and a two-stroke victory in the David S. Ishii Foundation State Girls Golf Tournament, the Waiakea junior dashed off to a waiting car for a trip to Kahului Airport.

"I've got school tomorrow," she explained, moments before departing the Dunes at Maui Lani golf course in wind-swept Central Maui.

Kim, who takes her golf and her studies seriously, earned her high marks the past two days for her performance on a course that severely challenged the talents of the 72 participants.

Kim's victory also led Waiakea to the team title, the third state championship for the girls program and its first under new coach Natalie Nakamura.

The Warriors finished at 479, easily beating out Baldwin for the title. The Bears finished at 491, followed by Kamehameha at 493, defending champion Kauai at 496 and Roosevelt at 512.

While Waiakea's team victory was pretty much a foregone conclusion midway through yesterday's second round, the same was not the case on the individual side of the competition.

Kim led a trio of golfers by one stroke following Tuesday's windy opening round, creatingthe likelihood of a playoff. But Kim coolly held off the challengers to secure the victory.

"I wasn't really concentrating on anyone else," she said. "I just tried to concentrate on my own game. Actually, it was a pretty boring round. I didn't shoot any birdies and had three bogeys, and that was it."

Four golfers finished tied for second, two strokes off the pace. Kamehameha senior Mari Chun had the best round of the day at 74, to finish at 155 along with sophomore teammate Alyssa Fukuoka, Baldwin senior Jayna Shimomura and Waiakea senior Amanda Wilson. Chun, Wilson and Shimomura were awarded second- , third- and fourth-place medals, respectively, using a tiebreaker system based on scorecard comparisons.

Highly rated Punahou freshman Stephanie Kono, regarded as the best teen golfer in the state this side of Michelle Wie, settled for a 158 and sixth place. Defending champion Britney Choy, a Leilehua junior, couldn't overcome an opening-round 85 and finished nine shots back and in 10th place after closing with a 79.

"I came over to Maui last month and shot two rounds on this course, but the conditions were totally different both days. And they were totally different again the last two days," Choy said. "A couple of bad bounces on this course and you are in serious trouble."

But Waiakea's talented pink-clad squad -- made up of players from the Hilo area's exceptional youth golf program -- was up to the task. None more than Kim, who earned praise from her coach for the composure demonstrated throughout the tournament.

"It certainly helps to have such talented players," said Nakamura, a Waiakea grad who played collegiately at the University of San Francisco. "Of this group, we only lose Amanda (who will play at the University of Arizona), and some of these girls have younger sisters coming in who also are very good players. The future looks bright for Waiakea golf."

The present doesn't look too bad, either, even if the heroine wasn't around to participate in the championship ceremony.