Hilo 13-year-old Jake Otani summed up 22 suspenseful holes at the Club at Hokulia in a manner that golfers of all ages and backgrounds can appreciate.
“It was the high and the low,” he said.
Unfortunately for Otani, the unassailable golf truism struck in that order. He forced a playoff Tuesday before losing on the fourth hole, settling for a runner-up finish at the Hawaii State Junior Golf Association age group championships in Kealakekua.
The “high” came when Otani, who trailed by two stroke with two holes to go, sank a 12-foot putt for par on No. 18 to tie Maui’s Christopher Chung-Salem with a two-day total of 25-over 169.
“I felt like I had so much pressure on me even though I played with him for two days,” Otani said of the playoff.
For three holes, “Each of us had to clutch up and make a lot of good shots,” said the soon-to-be eighth-grader at Waiakea Intermediate.
The “low” came in the form of a “duffed” chip shot out of the rough on the fourth playoff hole.
“I realized that he had to mess up or I had lost,” Otani said
Chung-Salem, who is set to enter high school, three-putted to claim the ages 13-14 division. The third golfer in the field was Kailua-Kona’s Ulukoanui Kailiwai, who came in at 37-over.
Beyond his riveting 22 holes, Jake also earned bragging rights by being the low Otani of the tournament. Noah Otani, a Waiakea sophomore, came in at 22-over 166 and tied for 13th in the 15-18 division, while Waiakea senior Elle Otani was 21-over 165 and 13th in girls 15-18.
“We always have a sibling competition,” Jake Otani said, “(and) compare scores and rankings.”
Joshua Hayashida, a Hawaii Baptist senior and the defending Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion, ran away with the 15-18 crown, closing with a 67 to card a 12-under 132 and pocket a 13-shot victory. Kailua-Kona’s Katsuhiro Yamashita tied for sixth at 13-over, and Waiakea junior Dysen Park was another three shots back in 10th after posting consecutive 80s. Ryder Ng of Hilo joined Noah Otani at 22-over, and Waikoloa’s Caleb Makoff was 28-over.
In girls 15-18, Punahou junior Raya Nakao of Kaneohe, Oahu, was the only golfer to beat par in a round, firing a 3-under 69 to post a four-shot victory at even-par. Nakao recently finished second at the Jennie K. Wilson Invitational on Oahu. Hawaii Prep sophomore Isabella Rodriguez was at 172.
At 8-over 152, Kate Nakaoka of Mililani, Oahu, conquered a three-golfer field the lower girls division, winning by 12 strokes.