KAILUA-KONA — Dalen Yamauchi is making a habit out of winning one of the oldest and most prestigious tournaments in Hawaii. Yamauchi dominated the field in a two-day event at Mauna Lani Golf Course to capture his third title in the 93rd annual Big Island Amateur Golf Tournament on Sunday.
The win was also Yamauchi’s second in a row.
“Since I was young I have enjoyed playing in this tournament,” said Yamauchi, who has competed in the tournament for eight years. “To win back-to-back is something special. Look at all the names on the trophy and you know they are all good players. This is such a great tournament.
Yamauchi was able to cruise to victory on Sunday after completely dominating the course on Saturday with a 67, seven strokes better than the next two competitors, Shon Katahira and Ric Yamamoto (74).
The three players were grouped together on Sunday where Yamauchi played more conservatively on his way to a 74, which tied Katahira, Oki Douglas and Ciera Min for the lowest round of the day.
“I played the course the correct way. You have to know when you can make birdie and when you cannot” said Yamauchi, who has been playing golf on Oahu. “It was nice coming home to play with friends. It makes me feel good and brings the best game out of me.”
Yamauchi finished with a total score of 141. Rounding out the top five were Katahira (148), Yamamoto (150), Casey Tamura (151) and Burt Bonk (152)
The Big Island Amateur has been around since 1924. The tournament has never missed a year.
“The beauty of the list of champions on the trophy is that they are all local guys who have been great players, some of which have went on the PGA Tour. There are also a lot of great junior players who have competed from as young as 13 years old,” said Tom Sursely, the Director of Golf at Mauna Lani. “This is one of the oldest tournaments west of the Mississippi. We have no age group and if the player has a handicap and wants to play then we get them in.”
The tournament is not played for any points or rankings. It is all about the prestige of winning something that has been around for so long.
The trophy itself came about in 1936. It was donated to the Hilo Country Club by M.L. Carl Smith, who won the tournament several times.
“This is a great local event with a good following,” Sursely said. “I’m sure it will someday move to another resort but we have been fortunate to host it for about 10 years.”
