WAILUA — If you are a girl and golf, there are lots of scholarship opportunities, said Logan Edelen, a Western Kentucky University golfer, Wednesday night.
Edelen, a full-ride golf scholarship player, was joined by other members of the WKU Hilltoppers team, as well as Kaua‘i-born golfers Layne Morita and Jordan Oda, playing for Chaminade University, at the special clinic and workshop which marks the return of the 11th Annual Kaua‘i Collegiate Cup to the Wailua Golf Course.
Following the workshop, Brian Tirpak, coach of the Hilltoppers team for the past 14 years, presented a Putting Arc, one of the tournament sponsors, to the Kaua‘i Junior Golf Association after some of its members saw the improvement it made in the swings of their individual putting.
Tirpak was joined by Chaminade golf coach Joey Tadeo and athletic director Bill Villa, as well as other members of the Hilltopper and Chaminade team in working with aspiring young golfers.
“They’re the ones that gave Jordan the scholarship,” said Kerry Oda, Jordan’s dad, who was listening to the presentation.
One of the most challenging parts of college golf is balancing academics, playing golf and having fun, said Morita.
This was attested to by Tirpak, whose WKU season is broken down into two 12-week seasons, which means golfers entering WKU open the year with tournaments that take them to different locations. The school year ends with the second 12-week schedule.
“Kaua‘i is honored once again to host this noteworthy event which fosters good sportsmanship, new friendships and healthy competition,” said Kaua‘i Mayor Bernard Carvalho in his letter appearing in the Kaua‘i Collegiate Cup program. “We are grateful to the organizers and sponsors for their continued efforts to support this wonderful program.”
Among the Kaua‘i people stepping forward, Larry Lee joins Tirpak as the Assistant Tournament Director, Fred Levinthol, former Kapa‘a High School golf coach, serves as the Tournament Director, his responsibility being to close up Wailua Golf Course following the workshop and clinic.
Tirpak, in his remarks, noted that Kaua‘i County Councilman Dickie Chang has served as emcee for the annual tournament lu‘au. Art Fujita and Matt Torrey has come forth to help with tournament preparations, and Tirpak has accolades for Craig Carney, Richie Rapozo and the crew at the Wailua Golf Course for their continued support.
Teams from six universities and colleges, including host WKU, and Chaminade will play 36 holes at the Wailua Golf Course starting at 7:30 a.m. this morning. The tournament concludes with the final 18 holes being played at 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning, followed by the awards ceremony.
This year’s field includes WKU, Chaminade, Hawai‘i Pacific University, Brigham Young University-Hawai‘i, the University of Toronto and the University of Calgary.
