Oride leads Irish to tie for ninth at Golfweek Challenge
Freshman Kelli Oride of Lihu‘e finished with a one-over par 73 to help lead the Notre Dame women’s golf to a tie for ninth place at the Golfweek Conference Challenge in Colorado, Wednesday.
Oride, the top female golfer for the 2010 Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation season, had the best round of her college career with the 73.
She carded three birdies over a five-hole span on her final nine holes to reach even par before a bogey on the par 3 seventh hole, her 16th hole of the day, gave her a final total of 73, playing the final round in sunny weather with temperatures hovering in the mid-50s and winds gusting to 21 mph.
Oride finished the 54-holes at 230 (79-78-73), tying for 32nd overall.
Notre Dame women’s golf finished play at its season-opening tournament with a final round 304 to finish in a tie for ninth place with Coastal Carolina. The Irish finished the 54 holes with a total of 917 on the par 72, 6,236-yard Tom Fazio course at the Red Sky Golf Club in Colorado.
Joining Oride, Irish captain Becca Huffer turned in one of 11 rounds of par or better, finishing the final round at even par 72, leading to a 54-hole total of 231 and tying for 34th overall.
Huffer’s par equalled tournament medalist Chirapat Jao-Javanil from Oklahoma who won the tournament with a one-over par 217 after 54 holes and firing a 72 in her final round.
Oklahoma captured the tournament, moving from sixth place to first on the final day with a three-over par team total of 291, that score pushing them to a 54-hole mark of 899 and a five-stroke win over University of California at Davis who finished with a 904 total.
Also playing for Notre Dame, freshman Ashley Armstrong of Flossmoor, Illinois, finished her first career tournament in a tie with Huffer, struggling through a final round 81 after opening with a 73 and 77. Katie Allare, a senior from Phoenix, Arizona, tied for 39th after shooting a closing round 78 and Kristina Nhim, a sophomore from Cypress, California, tied for 49th overall with an 18-over par 234.
Notre Dame takes a two-week break before hitting the greens on Oct. 7 through 9, traveling to Chapel Hill, North Carolina to participate in the Tar Heel Invitational hosted by the University of North Carolina. This is the first time the Irish will be playing in the Tar Heel Invitational.
Tee times now being accepted at Prince Golf Course
Tee times to the Princeville Prince Golf Course are being accepted for play starting Dec. 14.
The Prince Golf Course, ranked in the Top 100 in the United States by Golf Digest, has been closed since Jan. 29 for extensive renovation work which included complete reconstruction of putting greens with SeaDwarf Seashore Paspalum turf and sub-surface material to meet United States Golfing Association specifications, remodeling of bunkers to improve drainage, playability, visibility and strategic value, clearing of the fairways, streams, and visual impediments surrounding holes which have encroached on the design intent of the course over the years, widening of fairways and reshaping of greens, tee leveling and the addition of new tees for added shot value and variety, states a release from Candy Aluli Public Relations.
These renovations will ensure the course will be consistently maintained in superb condition.
The award-winning firm of Robert Trent Jones II, Golf Course Architects is serving as the lead architect on the project under the direction of Chairman and Master Architect Robert Trent Jones, Jr. who designed the Prince Course when it opened in 1990.
“Our firm is implementing a wide-ranging refreshment of the Prince,” Jones said in the release. “It will return the golf course to its original pristine condition and its stature as the best course in Hawai‘i. Essentially, we’ll give The Prince the royal treatment it deserves.”
Princeville’s Prince Golf Course is known for its challenging play, natural beauty and magnificent layout following the contours of the land over 390 acres of rolling terrain, tropical jungles, gullies, streams and waterfalls.
“The revitalization will make the course more flexible for a wider range of players while still providing Championship-caliber challenges for more seasoned golfer,” Jones said. “We’ll reclaim fairways and tranquil streams which have been narrowed or hidden by encroaching rainforest, remodel the bunkers and completely resurface the greens, restoring its original grandeur, beauty and shapes. We’ll also perform some additional reshaping which will help canny players to use the slopes and ground features to their advantage, as we intended in our original design.”
Additionally, the 60,000 square-foot clubhouse will complete its second phase of refurbishment to coincide with the golf course opening.
The Tavern Restaurant by Roy Yamaguchi and the Prince Golf Shop, both located on the lower level of the Prince Clubhouse, continues to remain open during the renovation.
Heritage Links has been carrying out the construction and renovation work and will manage all golf and club operations when the course reopens.
Tee times were being accepted from Sept. 19.
Visit www.princeville.com or call 826-5001 for more information.
Golf tournament helps Healing Horses Kaua‘i
Entries for the first Healing Horses Kaua‘i Fundraising Golf Tournament Oct. 29 at the Kiahuna Golf Course are being accepted at the Healing Horses Kaua‘i headquarters on Aikahi Street in Lihu‘e, or at the Kiahuna Golf Club.
Registration for the tournament starts at 9 a.m. on Oct. 29 at the Kiahuna and first tee is at 10 a.m.
Entry fee is $125 per golfer and includes the awards luncheon at Joe’s on the Green, soft beverages, door prize coupons, greens fee and golf cart.
Tournament format is two-person Best Ball with KGA or USGA established handicap. The maximum handicap for men is 27 and for women, 36. There is no maximum for golfers over 80 years old.
Mulligans are available at $5 and limited to two.
First prize in the tournament is $200, second place is $75 and third place is $50.
Proceeds from this tournament will offer continuing education opportunities for the ongoing certifications necessary for accredited Professional Association for Therapeutic Horsemanship Centers.
Healing Horses Kaua‘i provides equine-assisted activities and therapies for individuals with special needs.
Call 632-2010 for more information.
Spots available for Patriot Golf Day tournament
Spots for the Patriot Golf Day Tournament are still available said Kenneth Kimura of the Kaua‘i Lagoons Golf Club.
Proceeds from the tournament benefits the Folds of Honor Foundation which is a legacy foundation designed to provide educational scholarships for dependents and spouses of service members who are either killed or disabled while serving our nation.
Eligibility for the tournament is for all kama‘aina and entry fee is $50 which includes prizes and donation to Patriot Golf Day.
Mulligans are $10 each and limited to two, purchased on the day of the tournament.
Deadline for registration is Sept. 24 and the field will be limited to just 72 players.
The tournament will be played on Sept. 29 with registration taking place at 12:30 p.m. and a shotgun start at 1 p.m. for the 2-person Net Scramble.
Ten percent of handicap will be used with men having a maximum of 24 and ladies having a maximum of 36.
Call Kendric Kimizuka at 241-6000 for more information.
Kaua‘i Junior Golf fields 16 at JTS at Kaua‘i Lagoons
Sixteen of Kaua‘i’s Junior Golfers will be on the Kaua‘i Lagoons Golf Club, Kiele Course when the Hawai‘i State Junior Golf Association 2011 Junior Tour Series, All Ages, Kaua‘i tees off Saturday starting at noon.
Rilen Loo of Lihu‘e and Ashdan-Ryder Kilikai Ahuna, playing in the Boys 11-12 division at 5,672 yards will be in the first threesome going off at noon.
Other Kaua‘i golfers in the tournament include Nathaniel Dama of Princeville and Trevor Kua of Lihu‘e also playing in the Boys 11-12 division.
Vance Tokita, one of the Kaua‘i High School golfers during the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation season, will be teeing off in the Boys 15-18 division at 6,668 yards.
He will be joined by Braeden Robley of Lihu‘e and Kenji Miyata of Kapa‘a, a strong golfer for Kapa‘a and finishing strong in the Mixed Team Championship which played at the Po‘ipu Bay Golf Course earlier this month.
Na‘ea Oda of Kapa‘a is the sole Kaua‘i golfer in the Girls 13-14 division, playing at 5,672 yards.
Naia Burkart of Lihu‘e will be in the Girls 7-10 division playing 4,403 yards.
KIF golfers Taylor Viquelia of Koloa and Daezsa Tomas of Lihu‘e, both Red Raider golfers, will be stroking in the Girls 15-18 division playing 5,672 yards.
Kainalu Gary Gandia of Kapa‘a, Bryden Salvador of Kilauea, Keegan Loo of Lihu‘e, Jamie Amimoto of Lihu‘e and Jacob Dysinger of Kapa‘a make up the biggest group of Kaua‘i golfers, playing in the Boys 13-14 division at 6,397 yards.
The 36-hole tournament concludes Sunday when the first group tees off at 7 a.m.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@ thegardenisland.com.
