Jared Sawada reached a playoff last year at the inaugural Big Island Invitational, and this time around hes showing no indications he wants it to get that far.
Jared Sawada reached a playoff last year at the inaugural Big Island Invitational, and this time around he’s showing no indications he wants it to get that far.
Sawada was the only player to master the tournament’s first turn at Makani Golf Club on Saturday, firing a 67 for a commanding six-stroke lead heading to the final round.
Fellow pros Justin Keiley and Patrick Murakami were at 73 but have a lot of ground to make up when play resumes with an 8 a.m. shotgun start Sunday.
The group at 73 included Kevin Carll and low amateurs Pono Yanagi and Tracy Kitamura, both of Hilo.
Sawada, a University of Hawaii alum from Oahu who made his third appearance at the PGA Tour’s Sony Open earlier this year, missed out on the $5,000 grand prize last year when he lost a pair of playoffs at Hilo Municipal Golf Course. The first was a four-way affair in which amateur Christian Agosto came out on top, and Nainoa Calip won the second one for the pros, also edging Keiley. Agosto and Calip aren’t in this year’s field.
Amateur Shaun Downie of Hilo was among three golfers at 75, and tournament organizer Kevin Hayashi opened with a 76.
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