KOHALA-COAST — Honolulu’s David Lee led from wire-to-wire at the Big Island Amateur golf tournament at the Mauna Lani Resort North Course over the weekend.
Lee fended off Hilo’s Pono Yanagi with a 4-under-140 over the two day tournament hosted by the Hawaii State Golf Association. Yanagi finished at 145, 1-over-par.
Lee and Yanagi are no strangers on the golf course. The pair have been battling all year at the Hawaii State Amateur level.
“We see each other almost every week,” Lee said. “I played him in both rounds at Hualalai and I beat him there too.”
Lee admitted the pair have a “friendly” rivalry. For Yanagi, he said playing Lee every week is “difficult.”
“He is a great overall player and he is hitting longer now,” Yanagi said. “He is always accurate and his wedge game is on point. You have to be on your A game to beat him.”
On the first day of the tournament Saturday, it was Lee who brought his A game. Lee shot a 4-under-68 behind a solid performance on the green.
“I was draining everything,” Lee said.
On the second day of the tourney, Lee struggled at the start with a bogey on the opening hole. He added another bogey down the stretch but managed to birdie two holes late to finish even-par.
“This is a really nice course, and with some holes with lava on both sides, it can be a little tricky on tee shots,” Lee said. “But if you keep the ball in play and make some putts, it turns into an easy course.”
For Yanagi, the top Big Island finisher in the Championship Flight, the two-day experience provided some learning moments after missing a pair of putts late on Day 2 that would have allowed him to finish as the only other player under par.
“I wish I had drained that birdie putt on 17 or that par putt on 18, but that is how golf is,” he said. “You take what you get and you use it as motivation for the next tournament.”
Kamuela’s Ken Zecchini placed third overall with a 5-over-149. Kailua-Kona’s Cullen Burgess (6-over-150) and Waikoloa’s Ethan Jaehn (7-over-151) wrapped up the top three Big Islanders. They placed fourth and fifth respectively.
