KAILUA-KONA – In the end, it all came down to the final hole at Kona Country Club.
Waiakea’s Dysen Park and Elle Otani each saved their best for last to earn medalist honors in come-from-behind fashion Tuesday afternoon.
After 17 holes, Otani trailed teammate Kiersten Saludares by one stroke. A bogey by Saludares – who finished one group ahead of Otani – on 18 gave Otani the opportunity to claim the win. Otani’s third shot on the par-5 18th was nearly perfect, settling less than a foot away from the pin to set up the winning birdie putt.
“To be honest, I thought the shot went over the green,” said Otani. “When I walked up to the hole, it was right next to the pin. I guess I hit that better than I thought I did.
“To be honest, I didn’t know where I was on the leaderboard… I found out when I was getting shuttled back. I was talking to the person who was shuttling me back. I said I birdied the last hole… He was like, ‘Oh, you won then.’ I checked the leaderboard, and sure enough.”
The birdie on 18 gave Otani a 6-over 78 to claim sole medalist honors for the first time this season. She was co-medalist two weeks ago with Saludares in Waikoloa.
“It feels good, but I also know that I still need to improve for states,” said Otani. “It’s just a stepping stone; I still need to aim higher.”
Following just a few holes back, Park faced an even steeper climb to claim the win. His teammate Noah Otani held a four-stroke advantage heading into the final five holes. A double-bogey by Otani on 16 left the door open for Park, who was paying attention to the live-score updates.
“When there’s live scoring, you’re going to see it,” said Park. “It’s good to know where you’re at.”
Still trailing by two strokes heading into the 18th hole, the Waiakea junior delivered in a big way, placing his second shot within 10 feet of the pin. The ensuing eagle putt shot went in, and Park matched Otani at 1-under.
“I think I had about 200 yards to the pin, so it was a comfortable 5 for me,” said Park. “All I told myself was, ‘Get on the green.’ As long as it was a decent shot, I knew I could get it there.”
After Otani bogeyed 18, Park had his third BIIF win in four events this season. Park’s eagle on 18 capped a bogey-free 5-under back nine: a significant turnaround after he sat at 4-over without a birdie in the front nine.
“Today was a grind. The front nine was… adventurous,” said Park with a laugh. “At the turn, I rode with coach Alika. He just told me to calm down and regroup. It worked out.”
Finishing behind Park and Noah Otani for the boys were Waiakea’s Ryder Ng at 4-over and Makua Lani’s Caleb Markoff at 8-over. For the girls, Hawaii Prep’s Isabella Rodriguez and Ella Forrest took third and fourth at 13-over and 17-over, respectively.
Waiakea took both team races; the girls’ +45 total beat second-place Hawaii Prep by 95 strokes, while the boys’ +22 was 58 better than runner-up Kealakehe.