LIHU‘E — Mary Bea Porter-King, Winston Ogata and Art Fujita were inducted into the Kaua‘i Golf Hall of Fame through the efforts of Kaua‘i Golf Association President Dick Ueoka at the Mo‘ikeha Building, Lihu‘e Civic Center on Monday.
“We extend our gratitude to Mary Bea, Winston and Art for their invaluable contributions to our golf community,” said Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami, who joined other dignitaries, including Rep. Dee Morikawa and Kaua‘i County Council members Felicia Cowden, Ross Kagawa, Bernard Carvalho and Addison Bulosan in congratulating the trio on their honor.
Information provided by a county press release stated that Porter-King is a leader in amateur and professional golf at the state, national and international levels. Her illustrious career includes lettering in four sports while at the Arizona State University, and playing and winning on the Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour.
Upon moving to Hawai‘i, she volunteered and eventually took over the administration of the Kaua‘i Junior Golf Association. Recognizing the need to leverage Hawai‘i’s limited resources, she worked to combine the various island junior associations under one umbrella — the Hawai‘i State Junior Golf Association.
She also served five years on the USGA Executive Committee, three years as an independent director for the PGA of America and five years on the PGA Rules of Golf Committee. She later was co-captain of the Junior Ryder Cup Team and captain of the Junior Solheim Cup Team, both played in Scotland.
Fujita started golfing at a very young age at Wailua Golf Course, the release states. He participated in 10 United States Public Links Championships, finishing second in 1969. During the course of his golf career, Art has won numerous state golf championships, including two Maui Opens and the coveted Frances Brown b4-Ball Title.
Fujita was also instrumental in bringing the Public Links Championship to the Wailua Golf Course.
Fujita is the president of the Kapa‘a High School Foundation, a nonprofit charitable organization whose mission is to enhance and enrich learning opportunities by providing financial support to students, and funding school programs that foster excellence in academics and extracurricular activities.
Ogata has been a fixture and a leader in Kaua‘i’s golf community for decades, the release states. Golfing for Ogata started in 1971, and by 1980 he became the assistant golf coach for the Kaua‘i High School program. From 1982 through 2006, he was the school’s head coach during which time his teams won numerous Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation and Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association golf titles.
Ogata has also been on the Wailua Golf Course Advisory Committee since 1982. During this time, he has assisted in programs to improve the golf course and helped in many tournaments. He was also treasurer for the Kaua‘i Junior Golf Association and assisted the program for many years.
He became a member of the Hawai‘i State Golf Association in 2013, helping with rules, tournaments and assisting when needed. Due to his many contributions in promoting the sport of golf, he was selected Volunteer of the Year in 2013.
The trio of golfing greats join other Kaua‘i Golf Hall of Fame members Toyo Shirai, David Ishii and Allan Yamamoto, who were inducted in 2022 by Kawakami and the Kaua‘i County Council.
