WAIKOLOA — Waiakea’s Trevor Hirata and Shon Katahira are arguably the two best high school golfers on the Big Island and proved why with a pair of 1-under 71 scores to lead the Warriors over the BIIF field at the Waikoloa Village Golf Course on Tuesday.
Annie Nakamoto shot a 9-over 81 for the Waiakea girls, which allowed the Warriors to get a clean sweep in the team competition.
Hirata and Katahira have been battling for the top spot in every tournament so far this season. Katahira beat out his teammate with a 4-under 68 in the first meet, which took place at Volcano Golf Course. Hirata, the two-time defending BIIF champion, bounced back with a 3-under 69 at the Waikoloa Kings Course last week to claim his first victory of 2016.
At Waikoloa Village, Hirata started slowly with a double bogey on the second hole. This gave Katahira a 1-stroke advantage heading into the turn, and he widened that lead to two strokes on the 10th when a monster drive from the tee box that left him a 50-yard approach shot and a short putt for birdie.
The drive was so long that Katahira was looking for his ball in the rough nearly 30 yards behind where his ball stood before his playing partners pointed out where it had landed.
“That drive on 10 — I don’t know how I got it out there, but that was a big one,” Katahira said.
After the No. 10, Katahira began to struggle. He bogeyed the next hole to give a stroke back. Meanwhile, Hirata birdied No. 12 to tie the match. Katahira bogeyed No. 13 and both players birdied the par-5 14th.
With two holes to play and a 1-stroke advantage, Hirata had a chance for the win, but bogeyed No. 17. On 18, Hirata — playing a group ahead of Katahira — had to scramble to make par and keep himself in contention.
“I made a good save on 18,” Hirata said. “I tried to cut the corner and hit a hook into the trees. I punched a shot out but hit it a little too right. I hit under a tree again and hit the ball short, but I was able to chip up to 10 feet and make the putt.”
Katahira had a less eventful 18 for his par.
As a team Waiakea shot a score of 310, edging out Kamehameha by eight strokes. Hilo finished third (356) and Makua Lani (378) followed in fourth.
Behind Nakamoto, the Warrior girls shot a team score of 252 to beat Hilo (290). Nakamoto opened her round with back-to-back birdies. She made the turn at 3-under, but struggled on the par-3 16th, shooting a 6.
“I was doing pretty good until the triple bogey,” Nakamoto said. “I went into the sand and I didn’t get out the first time and then I three-putted.”
Despite the setback, Nakamoto rebounded with a par on the 17th hole before finishing the day with a bogey on 18.