LIHU‘E — After all the upsets and storylines throughout this exciting 102nd Manoa Cup, it will all come down to the top two seeds going head-to-head for the championship today as defending champion TJ Kua, of Kaua‘i, will match up
LIHU‘E — After all the upsets and storylines throughout this exciting 102nd Manoa Cup, it will all come down to the top two seeds going head-to-head for the championship today as defending champion TJ Kua, of Kaua‘i, will match up with David Fink in the 36-hole final.
Kua, the top seed by way of winning the event in 2009, took care of Colton Knedler in the quarterfinals, 3 & 2. The Lihu‘e resident and current University of Hawai‘i golf team leader was in the somewhat unfamiliar position of having to come from behind after Knedler birdied the second hole to go 1-up, then Kua bogeyed the third to fall two holes behind.
He capitalized on a Knedler bogey on the fourth to get back to 1-down, then squared the match with a birdie three on the sixth. From there Kua went on a run, winning five of the next six holes to take a 5-up lead with just six holes to play.
It wasn’t quite over yet as the two players halved No. 13, then Knedler won two straight holes to keep himself alive, but they each parred the 16th hole to end the match and give Kua the 3 & 2 victory.
The day was not complete, as the semifinal matches followed in the afternoon. Kua’s opponent was Hunter Larson, the No. 5 seed in the tournament.
The players traded early leads and Larson used a par on No. 7 to move to 1-up, but Kua stormed back and won the next four holes to move to 3-up after 11.
He then basically played keep-away, holding the lead and matching each of Larson’s scores for the next five holes, not allowing any chance for a comeback. Just like his first match of the day, after each player parred the 16th, Kua moved on to the finals with his 3 & 2 win.
Fink, the tournament’s second seed, took control of each of his matches and won with relative ease, starting off with a 5 & 4 win over Jonathan Ota. Fink birdied the second, then took advantage of an Ota double-bogey on the fourth to move to 2-up.
He gave a hole back on No. 8, but then won four of the next five holes to go 5-up with five to play. Each parred the 14th and that was the end of the quarterfinal contest.
In the semifinals, Fink jumped out early on Bou An Fujieki, the No. 35 seed. He won the first three holes, birdying two of them. He added to that advantage with a birdie on the sixth, moving to 4-up.
Fujieki came back and won the eighth and ninth holes, but Fink took the 10th and 11th to get back to 4-up with seven to play.
That moved to 5-up with five to play after a birdie on the 13th hole, then each player parred the 14th to end the afternoon, 5 & 4.
Fink, a 19-year-old lefty from Kailua, finished in second place at the 2009 HHSAA individual golf championships and was a member of the ‘Iolani championship squad.
Kua is looking to add to his already-impressive resume, which includes championships at the Barber’s Point Invitational and Hawai‘i Amateur Stroke Play Tournament, plus a second place at the Turtle Bay Amateur, all since winning the 2009 Manoa Cup.
He is looking to become the first player to successfully defend his Manoa Cup title since Brandan Kop won in 1997-98.
Last year’s victory came over fellow Kauaian Layne Morita, who faced Kua again in the opening round of this year’s match-play tournament. Kua won 3 & 2 this time around, after last year’s memorable 1-up championship win.
Fink and Kua are scheduled to tee off at 7 a.m. at O‘ahu Country Club.
