Henry tops Toyama

The 42-year-old, playing in his first Manoa Cup, knocks off the defending champion 6 and 5

Bill Henry introduced himself to the Hawaii amateur golf scene in a big way yesterday, downing defending champion Travis Toyama 6 and 5 in a stunning upset in the first round of the 98th Manoa Cup.

Henry was the last man in with a qualifying-round 79 on Monday, and even had to earn his spot in a two-hole playoff. That made him the 64th and lowest seed, with the unenviable task of facing two-time tournament winner Toyama at Oahu Country Club.

But he showed a resolve and skill that surprised many, none more than Toyama himself, who had never seen Henry play before.

"Bill was playing real well, you know, he didn't make any mistakes -- he might have made one," said Toyama, a 19-year-old junior on the University of Hawaii golf team. "He played real solid today. I struggled a little bit at the beginning, and he took off with it, that's pretty much it."

Henry, 42, of Hawaii Kai, hasn't won any local tournaments before and has participated in just a handful of Amatour events. He's lived on Oahu for eight years, but hasn't had much time for tournaments because of his work schedule with Bank of Hawaii. This year, though, his slate was clean and he decided to sign up for the Manoa Cup for the first time.

"I felt solid, but it's always a challenge going up against a defending champion, that's for sure," he said. "I just tried to put the qualifying behind me and played as well as I could today. I finished well (Monday) -- three birdies in the last five holes -- and then played well in the playoff."

Henry followed that up yesterday with birdies on four of the first nine holes to go 3 under at the turn, then dropped in his winning shot on 13.

Neither Manoa Cup tournament chair Jay Hinazumi nor Hawaii State Golf Association President Gary Wild could remember a 64 seed knocking off a top seed in their 10 to 12 years of involvement -- though both were sure it had happened at some point in the past.

Three of the top five seeds are already out this year. Besides the top seed, which is awarded to last year's champ, seeding is determined from the players' qualifying scores.

Fourth-seeded Jared Sawada was eliminated by Sam Rodriguez III 3 and 2, and fifth-seeded Chris Caycayon got knocked off by Thomas Herrick 3 and 2.

"Match play is golf at its finest, and you never know what's going to happen," said Wild. "Absolutely, you never know. So I'm not surprised, all I can say is somebody's got to play well today, and someone isn't."

The best-played match of the day may have been between UH golfer Pierre-Henri Soero, the third seed, and Erick Ellgren. The two were even through 18 holes, but Soero, who qualified for the U.S. Open as an amateur last year, kept his composure and won on the first extra hole. Soero fired a 5-under 66, while Ellgren had a 4-under 67 through 18.

"I played very good, and (Ellgren) played great," said Soero, 22, of New Caledonia. "It was a great match -- hopefully the toughest this week. I think if I keep playing (at the same level), I should be fine."

In an intriguing second-round matchup, 2003 winner Kellen-Floyd Asao and 2004 champ Ryan Perez -- former teammates on the UH golf team -- face off today.

"We pretty much know how each other plays, so, I mean I have a lot to work on today because I didn't hit it so well," Asao said. "I have to hit a few balls after this, and hopefully figure everything out by tomorrow. Should be a good match."

The shot of the day belonged to Joseph Thomas, of Waianae, who used a 9-iron off the tee of the par-3 11th hole. He heard his shot clang off the flag.

"I was thinking, 'ooh, it's in the hole!' but then," Thomas paused and made a hissing sound, "I lost (sight) of the ball and saw it going down the side of the hill, off the green." He groaned for emphasis.

He rebounded to chip his ball up 3 feet away, and putted to save par. He won the hole and went on to advance to the next round.

Play resumes today in the second round, starting at 7 a.m. at Oahu Country Club.

Manoa Cup Round of 64 results Manoa Cup At the Oahu Country Club Round of 64 Billy Henry def. Travis Toyama 6 and 5 Troy Higashiyama def. Kellen Watabu 1-up Tom Goodbody def. Glenn Niitani 8 and 6 Robert Greenleaf def. Mason Davis 4 and 3 Brandan Kop def. Michael Field 6 and 5 Richard Sieradzki def. Jon Daniel Jr. 19 holes Shannon Tanoue def. Robert Oda 4 and 3 Jeff Weinstein def. Toby Martyn 2 and 1 Samuel Rodriguez III def. Jared Sawada 3 and 2 Bradley Shigezawa def. Andrew Llarenas 1 up Reyn Tanaka def. Michael Miguel 7 and 5 Isaac Jaffus def. Scott Seki 5 and 4 Thomas Herrick def. Chris Caycayon 3 and 2 Joseph Thomas def. Shigeru Matsui 3 and 2 Jonathan Ota def. Shunsuke Aonuma 4 and 3 Edward Stenftenagel def. Michael Park 3 and 2 Kellen-Floyd Asao def. Edward Han 3 and 2 Ryan Perez def. Yusuke Aonuma 8 and 7 Gary Kong def. Scott Yoshida 2 and 1 Burt Bonk def. Haku Maluenda 2 and 1 Craig Uyehara def. Kurt Mizusawa 5 and 4 Phillip Anamizu def. Barry Schnabel 5 and 3 Alvin Okada def. Jaime Matsumura 6 and 5 Garret Hayashi def. Colton Knedler 4 and 3 Pierre-Henri Soero def. Erick Ellgren 19 holes Spencer Shishido def. Jon Jew 2 and 1 Matthew Ma def. Shakil Ahmed 3 and 2 Doug Williams def. Jarret Young 3 and 2 Michael Jay Sato def. Justin Sakaue 3 and 2 Steven Matsuno def. Jonathan Hirata 4 and 3 Gregory Ono def. Lee Sakugawa 1-up Kenneth Tenn def. Brandon Tashiro 5 and 3