 30th Hawaii Pearl Open
Final Round, February 10, 2008
See Final Round results
Hawaii Pearl Open - Day 3 Summary
Yano Seals the Deal at the 30th Hawaii Pearl Open
30th Hawaii Pearl Open champ Azuma Yano |
Three golfers from the Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO) rose to the top of a strong international field of players in the final round of the 30th Hawaii Pearl Open.
Sixteen-year-old megastar Ryo Ishikawa drew the largest galleries and stampede of media, but it was Azuma Yano, a 30-year-old pro from Japan, who fired rounds of 66-69-69-204 to lead wire-to-wire throughout the 54-hole event.
At a Saturday press conference, Yano said he was most worried about JGTO veteran Kiyoshi Murota entering Sunday's final. At the time, Yano still had two holes to finish before completing his second round, as darkness forced the suspension of play for the second consecutive day.
Resuming his round on Sunday morning, Yano birdied the 17th Hole and parred the 18th to take a one-stroke lead over 30-year-old Chris O'Connor of Arizona heading into the final round. O'Connor, the overnight clubhouse leader, was in second place at 8-under-par 136. Yano finished strong, while O'Connor faded with a 3-over-par 75 and a tie for 11th place.
True to Yano's word, it was the 52-year-old Murota who shot a 3-under 69 to put pressure on Yano and finish at 10-under-par. Murota was tied for second place by 30-year-old Hidemasa Hoshino, who fired a sizzling 6-under par 66 final round to move to 10-under as well.
Steve Schneiter, a Nationwide Tour player out of Utah, matched Hoshino's low round with a 66 of his own. Schneiter and John Ellis tied for fourth at 9-under 207, while
The charismatic Ishikawa, meanwhile, managed a respectable 1-under par 71 to finish at 6-under and in sole possession of 10th place in the tournament. He was outdone by another 16-year-old, Punahou sophomore Bradley Shigezawa, who turned in a solid performance with three rounds under par. Shigezawa's 71-69-68-208 performance landed him low amateur honors and a tie for sixth place with Hilo pro and two-time HPO champion Kevin Hayashi at 8-under-par.
30th Hawaii Pearl Open
Final Round, Sunday, February 10, 2008
Player Name Overall Total Score
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Hawaii Pearl Open
The first Hawaii Pearl Open Golf Tournament was held in 1979. Back then, it was called the Pearl Country Club Open. The purse was a modest $10,000.
Since then, we've grown into a prestigious $80,000 tournament, with additional prizes for the winner of a gold Hawaii Pearl Open pendant, valued at $2,000, and 2 roundtrip airline tickets to Japan donanted by Japan Airlines. Known in Hawaii as the most lucrative of local tournaments, we host a field of 180 golf professionals and championship flight amateurs from Hawaii, Japan, the continental U.S., Australia and Canada.
Held in February each year, the Hawaii Pearl Open hi-lights of a year of course preparation and planning. Everyone here works hard all year long in anticipation of this golf tournament. The greens are fast, the roughs are long, and the fairways are cut for target golf. Pearl Country club is challenging even for the pros.
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