Saturday, November 7, 2009
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Imagine being scouted and promised a full scholarship as a six year old and fulfilling the potential to snatch the prize as a senior in high school. That's the story behind Kristina Merkle, the three-time Jenny K. champion and two-time Hawaii High School state champion. After graduation, she is going to the University of Tulsa on a full golf scholarship promised to her dad when the coach saw little Kristina swing her club at the age of six.
And she did it the old fashioned way. Merkle started off in junior golf and worked her way up the ranks against her peers. She learned to win, over and over again.
In Lanikai this past month, there was a new young golfer leading the pack for most of the tournament. But her game started to go south on her, and despite a 5-stroke lead going into the final holes, lost to Merkle.
11-year old Allisen Corpuz, who has also worked her way up through the junior golf ranks playing in the Hawaii State Junior Golf Association’s Junior Tour Series went into Sunday’s play tied for the lead with Merkle. Corpuz turned on the heat early, racing off with a birdie, birdie, birdie the first three holes. But Merkle, with a few more years’ experience, just kept the heat on. In the final four holes, Merkle found her two birdies including one 8-foot birdie putt on the hole she missed a 4-footer last year that gave the playoff and the win to Xyra Suyetsugu.
"Knowing I missed that 4-footer on the last hole last year to go to a playoff and defend my title ... I didn't want to lose again," Merkle told the Honolulu Advertisers Ann Miller. "I don't like the feeling of losing. Nobody does, but especially senior year. I don't know if I can come back after college. I wanted to end my senior year right."
Merkle proved she can not only dominate the field, when she won the Jenny K. by 13 strokes over the field, and “Tiger-esque”, stalking the leader and taking advantage of the opportunities when they come.
Allisen Corpuz is just starting her career, even though she told me during our interview on Saturday “When I was a kid….”.
Indeed, when she was a “kid” last year, she became the youngest to play in a USGA championship, breaking Michelle Wie's record.
Cyd Okino was third and Interscholastic League of Honolulu champ Marissa Chow tied University of Hawai'i junior Corie Hou for fourth at 224. Eimi Koga had the days second best round on Sunday. That gave her a share of sixth with Britney Yada and Suyetsugu.
Kathy Ordway, the treasurer of the Hawaii State Women’s Golf Association won A flight. This despite the fact she had gone for a pedicure the day before the Jenny K. and was suffering from terrible blisters on her feet. Remember, no exfoliating of the feet prior to a major event. Marissa Suehiro took 2nd and Susan Awaya 3rd.
Pong Hunter won B flight, Tina Cole C flight, Marcia Anderson D flight and Judy Kay Wilks E flight.
In the Jennie K. history, Merkle became only the fifth three-time champion, after Anna Umemura in the late 1990's and Hawai'i Golf Hall of Famers Tura Kahaleanu Nagatoshi, Jackie Yates Holt and Joan Damon, who won six times between 1957 and '66.
JENNIE K. WILSON
Jennie K. Wilson was the wife of one of Honolulu’s beloved mayors, John H. Wilson, like in the “Wilson” tunnel on the Likelike Highway. But that hardly begins to tell her story.
Ana Kimi Kapahukulae Kamamalu Kuula was born on March 4, 1872 in Honolulu two years before the reign of King Kalakaua. In her teens, she was selected by Kalakaua to be one of his court dancers. Kalakaua taught the group many songs and dances he composed. And the group traveled performing for, among many others, the King of Sweden.
“Aunty Jenny”, now the wife of Mayor Wilson, was approached by a group of Mid Pacific Country Club members who wanted to sponsor an invitational 54-hole tournament. Their purpose was to promote competitive golf for women golfers. They also figured they needed a “big” name to attract the attention. Even though Jennie K. wasn’t a golfer, she was beloved by people from all over the island and all facets of island life. She was a Connector. Jennie K. was chosen and 59 years later, golfers from many different walks of life and generations are proud to say they are winners of the Jennie K.
Merkle has won back-to-back Jenny K. Wilson Invitational titles, in 2006 and 2007, and her third Jenny K. championship this year 2009. Last year, Xyra Suyetsugu took the trophy. This year, Merkle repeats as the David S. Ishii Foundation/HHSAA Girls Golf State Championship individual champion. Last year she managed a ten-foot putt to win the state title by one stroke over Punahou's Anna Jang. Jang was the 2007 high school state champion.
At this years Jenny K., Jang was having a tough time getting her short game on track.
Her future is solid: Jang is going to Princeton on a golf scholarship.
Kristina's father, Lou Merkle, remembers the day he was head pro at the Discovery Bay Golf Club in Hong Kong. A Pac-10 coach saw little Kristina hitting balls on the driving range and told Lou, "if she does well, just tell her to remember two words when she goes to college: Full boat." After graduating from Moanalua this past month, Merkle was playing in the local qualifiers for the U.S Women's Open, U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links, and the Aloha Section Junior PGA Championship.
Lou Merkle, the head pro at Fort Shafter's Walter J. Nagorski Golf Course, is her just one of her golf teachers. Her mom, Jade Merkle, who works at Leilehua Golf Course, usually travels with Kristina, and her Moanalua High School coach Randy Yadao.
The motto of the Jennie K. Wilson since 1950, Kulia Na Nu’u (Strive for the Highest), was the personal mottos of Queen Kapiolani and Aunty Jennie. I think all of the women challenging themselves in competition are definitely working the motto.
HAWAII’S BEST OF THE BEST
Hawaii's high school golfers gathered for the Hawaii High School State Championship this past month. In the past, Hawaii's PGA Tour and Japan PGA Tour champion David Ishii paid out of his own pocket to hold these annual girls and boys championships. That was until his friends convinced him to create the David S. Ishii Foundation and raise money to pay for the events plus hold clinics for kids and award scholarships. Hawaii's top junior golfers took their team and individual games to Ka’anapali Golf Resort.
Lorens Chan and Team Iolani took top honors but it wasn't a walk in the park for Chan. The freshman Chan had to contend with his teammate, senior David Fink, and Kamehameha School's Aaron Kunitomo.
Chan managed back-to-back birdies on holes 11 and 12 and took the lead.
Fink, heading to Oregon State next year, was three-under par at one point but the final four holes hurt. He came in even par taking 2nd place in the individual standings. (Maybe he was thinking about the plane he had to catch right after finishing his round to get back to Honolulu to play on Iolani's volleyball team.)
Third place was a tie. Kealakehe's Henry Park, always a top contender, tied with another top junior golfer, Cory Oride, from Kauai.
Oride's sister Kelli, who took the 2nd place trophy the week before when the girls played their championship games, gave her brother advice we can all use. "Kelli told me to check the wind on every shot – when the trades are blowing, you really have to be aware of that and adjust your club selection or ball placement.”
Team Iolani took first place with a 2-day team score of 601. Moanalua was second with a 619.
David S. Ishii congratulated all the athletes: “This is the best state tournament we’ve had since I’ve been working with the HHSAA and that’s over 10 years. I want to thank Ed Kageyama and the staff at Ka’anapali for going above and beyond to make this week special for all players,” said Ishii. He added, “The reason we got involved in the tournament is to help young golfers – it is great for the kids across the state to travel and compete and network with the other kids. For some, this is the top of their golf career and Ka’anapali hosted an event they will never forget.”
PGA General Manager Ed Kageyama also spoke to the group; “We are glad to be able to support the High School golf program and had a great time hosting the best golfers across the state the last two weeks here at the resort.”
GIRLS TURN….
Remember the early days of May when we didn’t know which way the wind was going to blow? Those were the conditions for the girls playing at the David S. Ishii Foundation/Hawaii High School State Championship at the Ka’anapali Golf Resort Royal Course. You already know the winner, Moanalua High’s other top senior, Kristina Merkle.
It was Kristina Merkle, who went 72-73 for a total of 145 (+3) and Team Punahou with a 2-day total of 469 that took home the first place trophies and defended their honors as State Champions.
What was her strategy? Make par. It wasn’t her long drives that took her to the top, it was her consistent putting and consistent par on each hole.
During her awards speech, Merkle thanked her supportive parents and David Ishii, who was there to give the Girls their trophies.
Kelli Oride of Kauai High has a great record of playing well at Ka’anapali – she tied for second place on the Royal Course in both the Hawaii Callaway Junior World Qualifier as well as the Aloha Section Junior PGA Championship at Ka’anapali. She took second place in the individual medals.
Cassy Isagawa of Baldwin took third. Isagawa was definitely the Maui favorite. She won the MIL Individual Champion by 18 strokes the week before which was also held at Ka’anapali.
U.S. WOMEN’S OPEN QUALIFIER - MERKLE AND CHOW + TWO
Kristina Merkle of Honolulu, Hawaii, and Kazu Yazaki of Japan, both shot 3-under par 69 at Wailua Golf Course on Kauai to advance to U S Women’s Open Sectional Qualifying. Yuka Kuriyama of Japan shot 70, and Marisa Chow of Honolulu shot 71 to also advance to sectional qualifying play. Hot weather and little wind made for tough conditions.
Miki Ueoka of Kauai shot even par 72 to finish as the first alternate. Qualifiers will now play in the Sectional Qualifying event at Wailua Golf Course on June 15th.
Sectional Qualifying over 36 holes will be conducted for the U S Women's Open at 8 locations across the country this month.
BOYS (MEN) AGAIN – US OPEN QUALIFIER
Congratulations to the two Johns’ who come from the Kapalua Golf Academy. John Shaw and John Galarita are moving on to the U.S. Open Sectional Qualifier on the mainland.
The conditions at the par 70, 6700-yard Royal Course, set up for tournament play, were perfect, according to Jeff Halpin. Halpin, member of the U.S.G.A. Regional Committee and Official in Charge for the Qualifier said, “These were perfect playing conditions – we had some very light tradewinds all day and the course is in fantastic shape. The greens rolled fast and true – Craig Trenholme and his crew did a great job in getting the course ready for this event.”
There was a four-way tie for the two alternate spots: Scott Carroll, Aaron Kunitomo, Taeksoo Kim and Kirk Nelson. Nelson declined the playoff, leaving the three others to battle it out on hole #1. Kunitomo was the only one in the middle of the fairway, but missed his long birdie putt and posted a par. Taeksoo’s drive was far left rough, but he managed to scramble to make birdie. Carroll who was in the fairway bunker had some catching up to do and posted a bogie, leaving Kim and Kunitomo to take the two alternate spots. Kim and Kunitomo are “junior” golfers.
Earlier in the month, the U.S. Open qualifier was held at the Turtle Bay Resort – Palmer Course.
There are two qualifiers and two alternates.
Jim Seki, who lives in Palo Alto and Brakel Kamden, an amateur from Palo Alto, won the two qualifying spots. Local boys Bradley Shigezawa, a junior golfer, and Ryan Perez are the two alternates.
JUNIOR GOLFERS EXCEL
All of the names at the top of the individual High School standings are all the names you'll hear at the top of the leaderboards in many of Hawaii's golf tournaments and the tournaments originally meant for “grown-ups”, like the U.S Women’s Open and the U.S. Open.
Whenever there is a golf tournament in Hawaii, there are generally multiple flights. Tournament “flights” are based on ability of the golfer and the golfers designation as a professional or an amateur and age. So we have the Championship flight, the Professional Flight, and Flights A, B, C, D and Senior and Super Senior divisions.
You'd think the Championship flight would be for "champions" or past winners. It is for Hawaii's top amateur players but it's seems to have become the flight for Hawaii's top junior golfers. It's not uncommon for the top finishers to be between 14 and 17 in those Championship flights. And then there is Brandon Kop. He's one of the 40-somethings who keeps taking on these youngsters and sometimes wins.
THE PRO WHO NEVER PLAYED JUNIOR
Michelle Wie was making headlines around the world when she was eligible to play as a junior. But she wasn't turned out as a junior golfer. The focus was always entering Wie into events played by people older than Michelle. Much has been made of the fact that she didn't spent enough time with golfers her age to learn how to win. She was always the "phenom", a tall youngster playing with the adults. Now as a professional on the LPGA Tour, they wish she'd make those headlines. It would be good for the LPGA's business and even better for Wie.
“I think it’s important for our tour that she plays good,” Lorena Ochoa said of Wie. “I think we know she gets a lot of attention from the media, from the fans, a lot of different type of followers, spectators, and I wish her the best. She was the best when she was 12, 13, 14, and she was a phenomenon. I think today she’s a better player. She’s very talented.”
Kerr said: “She’s incredibly talented. It’s great that she earned her way on.”
Wie earned her way onto the tour full time by tying for seventh in the L.P.G.A. qualifying school in December in Daytona Beach, Fla. (Forty aspirants qualified there.) Before that, she played LPGA tournaments on sponsors’ exemptions. The rules allow only six such exemptions a year.
At 11, Wie won the Jenny K. at Mid Pacific Country Club and qualified for the United States Public Links championship. At 12, she qualified for an LPGA tournament. At 13, she became the youngest to make the cut in an LPGA tournament — a major, the Kraft Nabisco Championship — and the next day she shot a 66. At 15 she turned professional.
She chased the PGA Tour and the chance to play against the men, all the while charming the media and earning millions through endorsement contracts with Nike, Omega and Sony. Sony has since dropped her.
At a news conference Wednesday, Wie said if she could do it over, she would not start out on the women’s tour because “I don’t regret anything I’ve done.” “I’ve been through a lot in the last few years,” she said. “I’m not a high school student anymore, so that’s strange in itself. I hope I’m a better player now.”
And she likes her new schedule, even though it hasn’t paid off in the way of a victory, “I’ve played on tour a lot, but I never played every week. Now I’m playing in tournaments I’ve never played before, and playing every week is really enjoyable.”
This was the final LPGA Corning Classic, another casualty of the economy. South Korea’s Yani Tseng won the event by one stroke over Paula Creamer.
One say we’ll have to go over Tseng’s history.
So at this point in the season, going into a weekend off at the beginning of June, Wie has earned $303,317.00. She is now 16th on the money list and collecting Solheim Cup points. She has 87 to date.
PARKER’S PROGRESS
Parker McLachlin is going through growing pains. I think he can explain it best as he describes the reason and the progress he is making changing his golf swing.
Audio Clip (.swf) Listen to Parker McLachlin talk about swing changes
TIGER CAN'T GET NO RESPECT
So what's wrong with Tiger Woods? Nothing a little more time won't cure. But he didn't take advantage of his opportunities to win at the Masters, Quail Hollow and most obviously, the Players Championship, when he went into Sunday T2.
As Woods explained, it's a little surprising to him, "how long it takes. I've had knee surgeries before and you pop right back because obviously they weren't as extensive as what I've been through." But he sees progress. For the first time since the operation and his return, he is finally able to practice after a round. "If you haven't been able to practice for a year and a half after a round, it makes it more difficult to get ready for the next day. But now I'll start doing that and start to rectify some of the wrongs for that day and get them right for the next day."
But hey, how many golfers on the PGA Tour would be concerned about their game with four top-10 finishes and a victory? He is going to the SBS International at Kapalua’s Plantation Course, if he wants to!
Bubka, a frequent guest on "The Golf Club" radio show and on a first name basis with Woods, has been covering PGA Tour golf for many years. Bubka isn't the only one worried. But it's not because he doesn’t think Woods will come back to his ferocious form. It's because the Tour needs the buzz that Woods creates just as much as the LPGA Tour needs the Wie factor.
For any normal mortal golfer, a win and 4 Top-10's since February would be bliss. For Tiger, who was so close to taking the lead and winning on a couple of occasions, it's downright spooky.
Woods, who was tied for 2nd going into the final round, ended up seven shots behind Henrik Stenson. Stenson's a good golfer but
Woods not pouncing and chewing up his target? That’s unnatural.
Unfortunately right now Woods is just trying to figure out how to hit his targets, off the tee or on the green.
"No, it's not that bad," Woods said of his swing. "If I had a two-way miss, then obviously I'd be a lot more concerned than I am now, but just a one-way miss like today, you can aim for it. I'll fix it."
Hank Haney, Woods' swing coach, knows what his star pupil needs. "I just think that Tiger deserves a little chance to get up to speed after coming back from such a major surgery and not playing for eight months," Haney said. "He has come back from certainly one of the worst surgeries that an athlete could have and played very well."
Haney added that Woods' adjusted stroke average — a stat that takes into account strength of field and difficulty of the golf course — of 69.13 leads the Tour by one-half stroke even though he is tied for 65th in putts per green in regulation.
"We know what it is. It's just a matter of me doing it," Woods said of the problem with his swing. "Sometimes, as we all know, playing the game is harder to do on the golf course. I just need to do a little better job of it."
Woods will be playing in the Memorial this month.
WRAP UP
The Memorial Day weekend golf was emotional and thrilling. There was Rory Sabbatini shooting a final-round 64 for his first win in two years and Michael Allen winning a Senior PGA Championship in his first Champions Tour start. Or Paul Casey winning for the third time this year at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. Sabbatini broke down after Sunday's victory talking about his thoughts on everything from his children, to his friend Bill Huseby's battle with Hodgkins lymphoma. Like John Daly did in Europe, Rory wore a pink shirt and a pink ribbon on Sunday to bring attention to Amy Mickelson's battle with breast cancer. We won’t be seeing Phil Mickleson for a while. He’ll be at his wife’s side through her treatment.
Michael J. Fox, the actor, activist and Parkinson's patient, played in the pro-am of the Principal Charity Classic golf tournament. The pro-am was part of the PGA Champions Tour at Glen Oaks County Club in West Des Moines.
Fox, advocate for research to find a cure for Parkinson's, says in a statement that taking up golf is in the "most optimistic" thing he has ever done.
FROM OPTIMIST TO EXTREME
This is your extreme golf “hole” for the month: Chip for Charity.
On his first shot at the P.F. Chang's Challenge, Briny Baird makes it -- but it takes a few seconds for the word to get from the field of Petco Park to the top of the Omni Hotel.
GET YOUR TEAM
Dana Palama, Oric Kuapahi, and Keith Yamamoto from Kauai posted a winning score of eleven under par 61 on April 25th, to capture the McGladrey Local Qualifying Event at the Prince Course and advance to the Aloha Section Team Championship. Palama and Yamamoto were winners in last year’s event, as well.
The champions compete August 10 in the Aloha Section Team Championship at Kahili Golf Club on Maui. The threesome will be joined at the Section Championship by PGA Professional Steve Murphy from the Prince Course in a bid to become one of 41 teams nationwide to earn a berth in the 2009 McGladrey Team Championship, taking place Oct. 26-28 at Pinehurst (N.C.) Resort. The 164-player field in the National Championship will compete for a $200,000 purse, with amateurs receiving gift certificates.
Last year, the winning team from the Prince Course qualifier went on to take first place in the statewide Aloha Section Team Championship. In October, the team, made up of PGA Pro Steve Murphy and amateurs Dana Palama, Keith Yamamoto, and Rory Rayno, represented the state of Hawaii in the McGladrey Team National Championship at Pinehurst. The Prince team captured 12th place in the event, out of a field of 41 teams from across the nation.
You can be on one of those teams but you have to get in gear. Three women, two women and a man, two men and a woman, three men…you get the picture. You’ll use your GHIN handicap and have a blast.
McGladrey Team Championship Qualifiers are being held this month and next:
Kapalua Plantation Course on June 13.
Oahu Country Club on June 13.
Kahili Golf Course on June 20th.
Ka’anapalli Golf Resort on June 27th.
Turtle Bay Golf on July 12th.
Mid-Pacific Country Club on July 17th.
Makalei Golf Club on July 18th.
Ko Olina Golf Club on July 26th.
And you can ask your pro if you can organize a McGladrey Team at your favorite course.
Get more information at http://www.pga.com/teamchampionship.
It’s about time I thanked Gigi at Permanent Elegance, Deb and Sharon at Avance Salon, and all the wonderful people who help make “The Golf Club” possible, including CALLAWAY GOLF for the golf balls we give away on the radio show every Saturday morning. You can listen on the radio or on line and that information is at http://www.radiogolfclub.com/.
Thank you for your Mana and may you hit the sweet spot every time.
Aloha,
Danielle
