Hilo’s Isaiah Kanno hasn’t attended his first high school class yet, but he learned lessons about playing golf on a pressure-packed and emotional stage Tuesday, performing admirably at the 108th Manoa Cup.
The Waiakea freshman pushed former champion Matthew Ma to the limit, falling in 19 holes in the round of 64 at the Hawaii amateur match play championship at Honolulu’s Oahu Country Club.
Also in the Hilo contingent, Hilo’s Shon Katahira, a co-medalist in Monday’s stroke play qualifying, and Dalen Yamauchi each breezed to the round of 32, while Trevor Hirata and Preston Ching were ousted.
Many eyes at the tournament have been on Ma, the 2012 champion, after his younger brother was presumed dead when authorities in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, called off rescue attempts after Marc Ma, 20, went missing while paddleboarding Friday with friends.
According to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Matthew Ma first pulled out of the tournament, but then decided to honor the memory of his brother, a football player at Nevada, by playing.
Kanno gave Ma, a 32-year-old from Aiea, Oahu, everything he could handle on the course, reversing his fortunes with a birdie on the par-3 No. 11 and winning three consecutive holes to lead by a stroke.
Kanno made bogey on No. 14 to fall back into a tie, and after the golfers remained deadlocked during the next two holes, Kanno regained the lead with a par on No. 17.
But Kanno bogeyed the par-4 18 to fall back into a tie, and when the players went back to No. 1 for sudden death, Ma clinched the victory with a par.
Katahira picked up where he left off in stroke play, following his 69 with a resounding 7-and-5 victory against Honolulu’s Bobby Luo. Katahira was even-par during 13 holes to win the match.
On Wednesday, the Waiakea senior faces Maui’s Raymond Tendo, who advanced by ousting Hirata, a recent Waiakea graduate, 6 and 5.
Yamauchi, last year’s runner-up, beat Oahu teenager Colby Gunderson 6 and 5. Yamauchi, a Waiakea graduate and former UH-Hilo Vulcan, took advantage when Gunderson started with a bogey and double-bogey, and Yamauchi won four straight holes and already led 5-up after a par on No. 8.
In the round of 32, Yamauchi draws Oahu’s Andy Okita, who eliminated Ching, a recent Kamehameha graduate, 4 and 3.
Former Vulcan Isaac Jaffurs beat fellow Oahu native Chris Byrer 2-up, and will face Ma on Wednesday. The winner will draw the Katahira-Tendo winner.
Also, former Vulcan Nick Matsushima moved on with a 4-and-2 victory against AJ Montalbo. Matsushima lost to Ma in the 2012 final.
