Waiakea senior Andi Igawa’s golf game and mindset were resistant to the wind, and it was the same deal for Kamehameha junior Shantel Antonio, who battled tough conditions to put up a solid score.
Igawa fired a 10-over-par 81 to beat Antonio by four strokes in the Big Island Interscholastic Federation season opener Wednesday at Hilo Municipal Golf Course, where windy conditions reminded golfers of Waikoloa Village.
The forecast called for 12 mph winds, but it cranked up a lot stronger on the course.
Igawa, the BIIF runner-up the last two years, had scores of 39-42 in the first group while Antonio played in the second group and posted scores of 42-43.
“It was pretty windy, kind of like Waikoloa Village,” Igawa said. “It was pretty hard to judge distance. My chips on the side of the greens put the ball nearly 2 to 3 feet. I had short putts for par. I didn’t hit many greens. I’m glad my short game was there. It saved me for the whole round.”
Igawa’s round was a model of consistency. She had one birdie, no bogeys and two double-bogeys. She made par on the rest of the holes.
“My goal is I think of it as hole to hole. You can’t think too far ahead,” she said. “I’m proud of our girls. They’re all pretty good for first starting out. I’m thankful we have a team this year. Everyone has fun. … We enjoy each other’s company.”
The Waiakea girls are the 10-time BIIF defending champions. But Igawa is the only returning golfer.
Kamehameha picked up the team title with a 310 total, ahead of Hilo, 313, and Waiakea, 329.
The Vikings were led by Amanda Loeffler’s 92, the only other round under triple digits. Hilo lost Annie Sadamoto, the team’s No. 2 golfer, when she hurt her knee on the 14th hole and had to withdraw, likely costing the team a valuable score.
“The wind was like Waikoloa Village. From 150 yards out, I’d aim for the pin and the wind would carry it farther than it’s supposed to go and pull the ball off the green,” Loeffler said. “I need to get better at my short game. Hopefully, in the next round (March 29 at Hokulia) I’ll do way better. My goal is to be in the top three and win BIIFs as a team.”
Antonio knows the feeling of lost shots.
“It could have been better. It wasn’t my best round,” Antonio said. “It was really windy and hard to play. The wind was like Waikoloa Village. I had three birdies and my goal is to play the best that I can.”