At 581 yards, the par-5 No. 15 is easily the longest hole at Oahu Country Club.
Shon Katahira and Dalen Yamauchi each used the length to their advantage Wednesday, making birdies to extend their leads, breathe a sigh of relief and ultimately walk away with 3-and-2 victories to advance to the round of 16 at the 108th Manoa Cup in Honolulu.
Yamauchi led wire-to-wire against Andy Okita, but the Waiakea graduate’s advantage was cut to one when he hit his tee shot down the center of the fairway on No. 15 and got up and down for his fourth birdie of the match. Yamauchi two-putted for par on the par-3 16th to clinch the match.
“The last two holes I played really good,” said Yamauchi, who played his 16 holes at 3-under. “I know Andy (a 2013 Hanalani graduate) really well, and when he gets going he can be very good.”
Katahira’s putting put him behind early in his match against Maui’s Raymond Tendo, but by the time they got to No. 15 Katahira was in the middle of stretch that saw him win the last five holes. After a strong drive, the Waiakea senior hit a 3-wood within 20 yards of the cup, and he got up and down for his first birdie. He secured his victory when Tendo carded a double-bogey on No. 16.
The round of 16 is the farthest Katahira has advanced in his fourth try at the state amateur match play championship.
“I wasn’t expecting to fall behind by two shots, but I also didn’t expect to win five holes in a row,” he said.
As usual, former UH-Hilo golfers are making their presence felt at Hawaii’s oldest golf event. In addition to Yamauchi, Isaac Jaffurs and Nick Matsushima also advanced. All three have a made a run to the finals in the past five years.
Katahira and Jaffurs will meet Thursday for a spot in the quarterfinals in a rematch. Last year, Jaffurs won 5 and 4 in the round of 32.
“He’s reached the final before,” Katahira said, “so you know he’s a strong player. He showed he was a strong ball-striker.”
Yamauchi, the 2015 runner-up, draws former major leaguer Micah Kaaihue, who’s successfully making the transition from baseball to golf.
“I told him I remember you from Oakland and Kansas City,” said Yamauchi, who’s an L.A. Angels fan.
Jaffurs, the 2014 runner-up, made birdie on No. 17 to beat Matthew Ma 2 and 1.