LIHU‘E — The team of Dustin Moises, Cliff Arruda and Lane Hashimoto held onto the top spot of the 5th annual Never Forget Sandy G golf tournament by less than a point Sunday at the Kaua‘i Lagoons Golf Club. The
LIHU‘E — The team of Dustin Moises, Cliff Arruda and Lane Hashimoto held onto the top spot of the 5th annual Never Forget Sandy G golf tournament by less than a point Sunday at the Kaua‘i Lagoons Golf Club.
The trio carded a 56.4 in the three-person modified scramble format to take first place over the trio of Nick Kuhlman, Brandon Thomas and Kaina McCallum who finished with a 57.
Tori Laranio, Lopaka Kanehe and J. Miyasaki formed the third-place trio who ended with 58.2, followed by Tyler Yates, Gary Yates and Spencer Yates filling in the No. 4 spot with a 60.4.
A field of about 60 golfers, including a group of 10 from Texas, took off Sunday in a shotgun start at the Kaua‘i Lagoons Golf Club to help the YWCA of Kaua‘i raise funds for programs which work to end violence against women and children.
More importantly, the tournament keeps alive the memory of Sandy Mendonca Galas. The 27-year-old ‘Ele‘ele woman was found murdered in her car on Jan. 25, 2006.
More than six years have passed since that day, and no arrests have been made in connection to this crime, states a flier announcing the annual tournament.
“Sandra’s family has asked the YWCA to help keep the memory of her alive and to bring awareness to our collective need to end violence against women,” Renae Hamilton, the YWCA executive director, said in the flier. “The YWCA is proud to support the family’s request again.”
Shelly Paik, helping with the publicity for the event, said that Hamilton announced during the tournament’s awards luncheon the creation of “The Sandy G Memorial Garden” which will become a part of the new YWCA building located at the intersection of Hardy and Elua streets in Lihu‘e.
The YWCA of Kaua‘i is the sole provider of domestic and sexual violence services for victims and offenders, providing counseling, education and advocacy to aid in the healing and prevention of violence in the island’s homes and community.
“And remember, Sandy’s murder remains unsolved,” Hamilton said in the flier. “If you have any information regarding this crime, please call the Kaua‘i Police Department at 241-1696.”
