According to University of Hawaii at Hilo golf coach Earl Tamiya, Dalen Yamauchi is not one to watch.
Tamiya will send out six golfers Friday, but he’s only paying attention to five.
“I don’t follow Dalen,” Tamiya said. “We can leave him alone.”
Yamauchi has earned a mulligan or two.
The defending Pacific West Conference champion Vulcans feature a pair of heavy hitters who are new to the program, Jim Coon and Connor Graves, while Nicholas Matsushima is new to the rotation and doesn’t play as long off the tee. Tamiya lauds junior Kyeton Littel for his improved course management, and freshman David Tottori is nipping at everyone’s heels for a spot.
But none has shown the consistency and steadiness of Yamauchi, a 2011 Waiakea graduate who is the Vulcans’ elder statesman.
Yamauchi has two trips to the Division II NCAA championships under his belt, and Tamiya hopes he can assume a leadership role that was vacated when Corey Kozuma graduated.
Tamiya said the program’s recent success has raised the bar for everyone.
“We have a track record and tradition that the boys are all shooting for,” Tamiya said. “We have goals that we’ve achieved and we want to do it again.”
Ranked 19th in the preseason, UH-Hilo opens the fall portion of its schedule at the St. Martin’s Invitational in Olympia, Wash., Friday and Saturday before moving on to the Viking Invitational in Bellingham, Wash., on Monday and Tuesday.
Littel, a junior, has been a regular in the lineup since his freshman year. He has two top-five career finishes and was second to Yamauchi in preseason qualifying.
Coon, a freshman, takes advantage of his 6-foot-3 frame off the tee, and he’s impressed Tamiya with his short game. Tamiya said Graves, a junior college transfer, can also show off a powerful driver and has been rounding his game into shape.
Matsushima, 5-2, is a senior whose tournament success on his native Oahu — he reached the Manoa Cup final in 2012 — has never translated to college.
Tamiya thinks that may be ready to change.
“He’s been hitting a lot of greens and his game is a lot more solid,” he said.
Tottori, a freshman, will golf as an individual at St. Martin’s, but if he beats any of his teammates he’ll crack the top five at Bellingham.