Dalen Yamauchi did not take notice to how the other players were doing during the final round of the Big Island Amateur on Sunday. Yamauchi was only focused on his game, and with the way he was playing he had no reason to worry about the competition.
The former UH-Hilo golfer fired a 2-under 70 at Mauni Lani’s North Course, pulling away to win his second title at the event.
“I struck the ball really well and managed to stay out of trouble,” Yamauchi said.
No one else at the top of the leaderboard could quite say the the same.
Yamauchi balanced five bogeys against seven birdies and finished seven shots ahead of defending champion Shon Katahira at 3-under 141. Only one other golfer, Dick Gillette in third, finished within 10 strokes of Yamauchi.
“There are some things I still need to work on, but I’ll take it,” Yamauchi said.
If Yamauchi should decide to turn pro after his final semester at UH-Hilo, then he’s given himself a good farewell tour this summer. He finished second at the Manoa Cup, the state’s amateur match play champion, and he’s the island’s amateur champion for the first time since 2010, when he was a Waiakea senior.
In some respects it was just another round of golf for Yamauchi and the rest of the members of his final foursome, Katahira, Shaun Downie and Clayton Amuro.
Yamauchi is also familiar with Mauna Lani thanks to his time with the Warriors and Vulcans, and he said the course conditions were favorable.
Armed with a two-stroke lead on Katahira, a Waiakea junior, to begin the round, Yamauchi pulled away to owned a five-stroke lead after a birdie on No. 10.
“I still have to play golf and finish. Shon, he hits the ball really well.” Yamauchi said. “The group was a just bunch of nice guys. I just stayed consistent and kept it off the rocks.”
Katahira shot 75, losing two strokes off his opening-round score Saturday, while Amuro (74-81) and Downie (73-82) each slumped. Jeff Strang (74-79) struggled as well and wound up fifth, and two-time BIIF champion Trevor Hirata fired his second consecutive 75 to finish fourth.
Like Yamaguchi, Jim Schneider and Darryl Yagi each retained their leads, though neither fared as well as they had Saturday. Schneider (73-76) claimed the senior title and Yagi (69-75) won A flight.