By KEVIN JAKAHI
Hawaii Tribune-Herald
Kamehameha junior Pono Yanagi hit his share of great shots, including an eagle and four birdies, but sometimes his golf ball didn’t follow directions on Sunday at Hualalai, where his up and down day was reflected on the front and back nines.
He absolutely torched Hualalai’s front nine with a 33. But he had a 38 on the back nine for a 1-under 71. That was good for a two-stroke lead after the first round of the BIIF championships, which features a stacked leaderboard.
Right behind is Hilo’s Riley Kaneshiro at 73, Waiakea’s Aiden Oki at 74; Kamehameha freshman Dillon Ah Chong at 76, and Waiakea’s Isaiah Kanno, the defending champion, also at 76.
“Today (Sunday) was just another day of golf,” Yanagi said. “Fortunately, I had some great shots out there. I also had some rough holes from little mistakes.
“I’m starting to get my swing where I want it to be. I’ve been working on trusting my shots. If I second-guess myself, I would restart to get a line that I trust. My key moment was the eagle. I felt it had sparked something during my round.”
The top 18 advance to the final round on Tuesday at Hapuna.
If there’s any pressure to win his first BIIF title, Yanagi is putting it on a tee and blasting it in the other direction.
“My mindset going into the next day is that it is another round of golf,” he said. “I just have to play my game and trust my shots, stay in the moment and just enjoy the competition.”
For the girls, Waiakea freshman Lacey Uchida was consistent with a 36-35 for a 71 and leads sophomore teammate Mari Ebersole, the defending champion, by two shots.
Ebersole has been on a nice momentum roll.
Last Wednesday at Kohanaiki, she shot a 70 to take medalist honors by six strokes. Uchida wasn’t in the field.
On April 11 at Mauna Lani, Ebersole won her first BIIF meet with a 79 by three strokes over Waiakea senior Kaelyn Uchida, who had an 82. Lacey Uchida didn’t compete.
Waiakea senior and two-time BIIF champ Kaley Saludares is within striking distance after her 77.
Hilo freshman Chanelle Hwang carded an 80, along with Waiakea junior Jillian Mitsuda and Kaelyn Uchida.
Waiakea’s other talented freshman Kailey Okia shot an 81 while Waiakea junior Tia Kualii is at 84.
The top nine girls advance to the final round.
BIIF championships
Sunday
Hualalai, par 72
Boys
Pono Yanagi, Kamehameha, 33-38—71
Riley Kaneshiro, 37-36—73
Aiden Oki, Waiakea, 35-39—74
Dillon Ah Chong, KSH, 40-36—76
Isaiah Kanno, Waiakea, 37-39—76
Ethan Hironaga, Hilo, 39-39—78
Trey Nakagawa, Waiakea, 43-39—82
Scott Igawa, Waiakea, 41-42—83
Isaac Inouye, Waiakea, 39-45—84
Tyler Kuanoni, Hilo, 41-43—84
Riku Omata, Waiakea, 41-45—86
Kobey Babas, Waiakea, 43-44—87
Kobe Lorenzo, Kealakehe, 45-42—87
Deylen Nekoba, Waiakea, 48-48—96
Teague Adams, KSH, 46-51—97
Luke Ensey, HPA, 47-51—98
James Kagawa, Kealakehe, 52-46—98
Missed cut
Emmitt Alcos, Makua Lani, 46-54—100
Kobe Toledo, Waiakea, 54-47—101
Kyer Shigematsu, Honokaa, 65-78—143
Girls
Lacey Uchida, Waiakea, 36-35—71
Mari Ebersole, Waiakea, 38-35—73
Kaley Saludares, Waiakea, 43-34—77
Chanelle Hwang, Hilo, 37-43—80
Jillian Mitsuda, Waiakea, 34-43—80
Kaelyn Uchida, Waiakea, 41-39—80
Kailey Oki, Waiakea, 43-38—81
Tia Kualii, Waiakea, 48-46—84
Chloe Waters, Kamehameha, 48-46—94
Missed cut
Jaeda Yamasaki, CLA, 53-47—100
Kara Nagato, Hilo, 52-54—106
Brianna Hirata, Hilo, 57-53—110