Just two tournaments into a busy men’s college golf season, Dustin Franko already has made UH-Hilo coach Earl Tamiya look good on a couple of his more positive preseason predictions.
Franko, a junior from Canada, has provided stability for the Vulcans at the top of their lineup, and he’s done it as Tamiya predicted: by staying even-keeled emotionally.
“Right now, I completely agree with coach Earl, as my mental strength was the main reason I was able to keep myself in contention last weekend,” Franko said in a text to the Tribune-Herald. “While I wasn’t hitting the ball where I wanted, I was able to keep a positive mindset and stay in the present when going through my round.”
Franko was honored as the PacWest player of the week Thursday thanks to the 5-under 67 he fired Sunday at Pearl Country Club in Aiea, Oahu. The low round of the day and his career-best as a Vulcan, Franko came within a stroke of tying Hawaii’s Kotaro Murata at the top of the leaderboard. Oahu
Earlier this month, Tamiya praised Franko for his consistency, and he certainly delivered that at the Pearl Collegiate Classic, where he pocketed an eagle, nine birdies and 20 pars over 36 holes, finishing 4-under and seven-shots ahead of the third-place finisher, Justin Arcano of Hawaii.
“I managed to maintain a cool mindset while grinding through my round,” Franko said of his final 18 holes. “Although, I wasn’t striking the ball my best, my putting and short game around the greens kept me in the hunt.”
The Vulcans finished second, also getting contributions from Noah Lau (76-78, 10-over), Andrew Otani (83-73) and Nicholas Gomez (80-81).
Otani carried the lower returning scoring average heading into the season, but Franko also led the way for UHH at the Amer Ari Intercollegiate, closing with a 71 to finish at 6-over.
Not all of Tamiya’s preseason predictions were positive. One of his question marks regarded depth. Would UHH find solid options from its Nos. 4-5 golfers?
Franko said the Vuls are on the case.
“I am quite confident that the team will bring the heat come time for the PacWest Championship,” he said. “This week, for example, we had (three of our five guys) under par in our weekly rounds at our local course here in Hilo.
“Having the PacWest championships at our home course at Waikoloa will give us a slight edge over the competition, which could be key to our success.”
UHH has plenty of time to round into shape before the finals April 19-21 at Waikoloa Kings’ Course. UHH competes next at the Nighthawk Invitational in Livermore, Calif., March 8-9, and the road back to Waikoloa includes three other tournaments, one of them the Hawaii Challenge at the Waikoloa Beach Course.
“I feel I’m just beginning my good play this semester,” Franko said.
The UHH women will have had about a month off when they take the course again March 22 on Maui at UH-Manoa’s Anuenue Spring Break Classic.
The Pearl Collegiate Classic served as the Vulcans’ season-opener, and Waiakea alum Kaelyn Uchida led the way at 25-over for two rounds. Former Warrior Tia Kualii was 33-over, Kasumi Goto was another shot back and Waiakea grad Tori Hironaga was 45-over.
