LIHU‘E — Casey Watabu and Miki Ueoka are products of the Kaua‘i Junior Golf Association and the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation.
The pair of inspirational golfers was inducted into the Kaua‘i Golf Association Golf Hall of Fame in only the third small gathering on Thursday attended by Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami.
Watabu started his competitive golf journey with the KJGA at 8 years old.
A past Hawai‘i Junior Golf Champion, two-time KIF champion, and a three-time Junior America’s Cup Hawai‘i team member, Watabu earned a golf scholarship at the University of Nevada.
Watabu led the University of Nevada’s golf team to the 2006 National Collegiate Athletic Association championship, an event the university made its first appearance at following more than 20 years.
In that same year, Watabu won the U.S. Amateur Public Links to earn a spot in the 2007 Masters Tournament, making him one of five Hawai‘i-born golfers to participate in the Masters.
Watabu came home to Kaua‘i and continued to serve his community, serving as president of the KJGA from 2020 to 2023.
Miki Ueoka, represented by her brother Kelly Ueoka, started playing golf at age 6 and eventually with the Kaua‘i Junior Golf Association, and the Kaua‘i High School girls golf team that, in 2004, won the girls state championships.
In college, as a Santa Clara Bronco, Miki went on to become one of the most accomplished golfers at Santa Clara where she was a four-time All- West Coast Conference honoree, the first women’s player in school history to qualify for the NCAA tournament. She was a three-time individual winner.
Miki’s collegiate golf career, marked with numerous accolades and championships, laid the foundation for her professional endeavors. She is now a physician with hopes to practice in Hawai‘i.
The Kaua‘i Golf Association, with the Golf Hall of Fame based at the Wailua Golf Course, is made up of numerous well-known and respected golfers, including Dick Ueoka and Art Fujita.
