The round of 32 was an abbreviated round of finality for all three golfers with Big Island ties at the 110th Manoa Cup.
The round of 32 was an abbreviated round of finality for all three golfers with Big Island ties at the 110th Manoa Cup.
Trevor Hirata and Preston Ching of Hilo and UH-Hilo’s Adam Chiya each were eliminated before their matches reached the 17th hole at Oahu Country Club in Honolulu.
Ching, a UH-Hilo junior and Kamehameha graduate, fell 5 and 4 to Jun Ho Won, who advanced to face Matthew Ma, a former champion of a tournament that represents the state amateur match play champion. Ho Won claimed the 2017 HHSAA championship and golfs at Boise State.
Hirata, a three-time BIIF champ at Waiakea, was defeated 4 and 3 by Blaze Akana. Akana finished 21st at the 2018 HHSAA championships, participating for Kamehameha-Kapalama.
Chiya got to No. 16 before falling 4 and 2 to Caleb Keohokapu in a matchup of Pacific West Conference golfers. In the third round, Keohokapu, who plays for Notre Dame de Namur, draws Evan Kawai, the 2017 Manoa Cup runner-up.
Also advancing were defending champion Andy Okita and former Hawaii quarterback Hunter Hughes.
In one of the best matches of the day, veteran Brandan Kop, a four-time champ, was outlasted by Stephen Osborne in 21 holes.
