Golf can be a fickle game, but it can also be pristine.
Such was the case for Dillon Ah Chong over 18 memorable holes earlier this month on Kauai, where every club he pulled from his bag offered consistency and stability.
The Kamehameha junior made seven birdies in carving up Wailea Golf Club’s Emerald Course for a 6-under 66, riding his career-best to victory at the Michelle Wie Hawaii State Junior Golf Association Tournament of Champions.
“Every facet of my game was clicking that day,” Ah Chong said. “The win was one of the biggest tournaments that I’ve won because of the strength and depth of the field.”
He wavered a bit in the second round of the season-ending event before closing with consecutive birdies for a 77 and a four-shot victory that earned him an extra credit assignment. If ever there was a time for the Big Island’s junior contingent to take a break from golf it would be now, but not Ah Chong, who will represent Hawaii at the Hawaii at the Major Champions Invitational in Phoenix at the end of January.will be focusing on my short game, chipping and putting, since I know that the competition will be tough,” he said.
Ah Chong was introduced to the sport after his father and papa discovered the perfect cure for the Terrible Twos.
“(They) started taking me to the course when I was about 2 years old to hit balls,” he said. “But I didn’t start taking lessons, from my coach Lance Taketa (PGA at Hilo Muni), until I was 8 and then began playing junior golf.”
His win in the Tournament of Champions vaulted him into the top ten in the 2019 junior points standing. Ah Chong’s highest finish prior to the TOC was runner-up at the HSJGA match play championship in August in Maui. He’ll be one of the favorites during the BIIF season after finishing second at the championships as a sophomore.
“I am hoping to have the opportunity to play in college and from there we’ll see where it takes me,” he said.
His first stop his Arizona.
Also at the TOC, Hilo’s Jake Otani was second in boys 11-12, and Keaau’s Kahaʻiʻōlelo Helm finished second in boys 7-10.
2019 HSJGA points standings
Top 10 finishers, Big Island
Boys 15-18: 4. Isaiah Kanno, 2 victories; 9. Dillon Ah Chong, 1
Girls 15-18: 3. Lacey Uchida
Boys 13-14: 6. Dysen Park, 2; 10. Noah Otani, 0
Boys 11-12: 4. Jake Otani, 0
Boys 7-10: 2. Kahaʻiʻōlelo Helm, 1; 9. Blake Nakagawa, 0; 10. Noah Miyazono, 10