Veterans left standing

Jonathan Ota and Gary Kong buck the recent trend of youngsters winning the Manoa Cup

Youth and exuberance squared off against experience -- and yoga -- in both semifinal matches yesterday of the 98th Manoa Cup.

In both cases, know-how and veteran savvy proved to be superior.

Jonathan Ota, 44, and Gary Kong, 53, advanced to today's 36-hole match-play championship round at Oahu Country Club after holding off Shannon Tanoue, 28, and Pierre-Henri Soero, 22, respectively.

Their combined 97 years of age is a tournament record for the final match, and if Kong were to win today he'd be the oldest champion in the event's history.

Younger golfers have prospered on the course's hilly terrain in recent years -- since 1999, each champion has been in their 20s or younger. Golfers must walk the course all week, and endurance plays a big part in determining who goes the distance.

Kong and Ota, who know each other from playing in local tournaments over the years, have a unique approach to staying focused and energized.

"Ota and I have invoked yoga," Kong said. "We keep in shape, we do our stretching exercises, and it helps a lot because you notice in the past tournaments if you get tired and your legs get weak, you can't hit the shots. You just don't hit good crisp shots."

Yoga or not, they might be already feeling it.

"I'm dead tired already," Ota said. "I know Gary's much older than I am so I don't know how he's feeling." He laughed. "But that's the Manoa Cup, you know."

Both have come close to winning it all in the past -- Ota lost in the 2001 semifinals to champion Ryan Koshi, and Kong lost in the final to Ernie Gonzales Jr. way back in 1979.

"Win or lose, we're gonna have fun," Kong said, and clapped Ota on the shoulder.

Kong knows the course as well as anyone. He grew up in Nuuanu, and caddied there when he was 14. He's now an Oahu Country Club member, and several fellow members cheered for him throughout his victory over Soero.

Soero, a senior on the University of Hawaii golf team, held a two-hole advantage for most of the first nine. But Kong made a 20-foot downhill putt for birdie on the seventh to take the hole, drawing praise from observers and his opponent. They were all square at the turn.

"He's got a great short game," said the third-seeded Soero, who was playing in his first Manoa Cup.

Things were still even through 15, but then the wind and rain -- which had been intermittent and relatively light -- strengthened noticeably and the two veteran golfers had a chance to flex another facet of their games.

Kong led by a hole into 18, and decided to play safely on the right side of the fairway. Soero, though, needed the most direct route to the green to have a chance -- and the unfriendly conditions made his shot hook left into trees and into a hazard area.

"(Being up) on somebody, it puts a lot of pressure on your opponent," Kong said.

A harsh penalty drop location all but killed Soero's chances of forcing a playoff.

"(The weather) made the course real tough and made everybody start to struggle and hit shots that they don't normally hit," said Ota, of Lihue. "Whenever the wind and rain come in, it's a different course. Maybe that's where Gary used it to his advantage."

Tanoue, seeded ninth, rallied from three holes down to defeat Brandan Kop in the round of 16 on Thursday. He fell behind three holes against Ota yesterday, and battled back to square things up after 14 -- but he couldn't conjure the same end result.

Ota capitalized with a key birdie to win 15 and negotiated the strong headwind and rain on the par-3 16th to land on the fringe. Tanoue wasn't as fortunate, and faced a tough chip shot up onto the green from a steep decline on the right. To his dismay, he came up short on his attempt and the ball rolled back down by his feet. Ota sealed that hole, and played Tanoue even on 17 to win 3 and 1.

"I knew I just had to make par because it was a tough hole playing into the wind," Ota said. "From where he was, he had to make a perfect chip."

Tanoue eliminated 14-year-old Robert Greenleaf in yesterday's morning quarterfinal round, 3 and 2, ensuring Travis Toyama's record of youngest Manoa Cup champion (15 in 2002) remained intact.

In the other quarterfinal matches, Ota beat Reyn Tanaka 2 and 1, Soero defeated Steven Matsuno 2 and 1, and Kong bested Craig Uyehara 4 and 3.

Today's final begins at 7 a.m. at Oahu Country Club.