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Champions
2011 John
Ellis (Professional)
2010
Akinori Tani (Japan Professional)
2009 Jesse Mueller (Professional)
2008 Azuma
Yano (Japan Professional)
2007 Tadd
Fujikawa (Amateur)
2006
Tomohiro Murayama (Japan Professional)
2005 Will Yanagisawa (Professional)
2004 Greg
Meyer (Professional)
2003 Greg
Meyer (Professional)
2002
Kiyoshi Murota (Japan Professional)
2001
Hidemichi Tanaka (Japan Professional)
2000 Kevin
Hayashi (Professional)
1999 Jeff
Cook (Professional)
1998
Katsumasa Miyamoto (Japan Professional)
1997
Kiyoshi Murota (Japan Professional)
1996
Shinichi Yokota (Japan Professional)
1995 Lance
Suzuki (Professional)
1994 Kevin
Hayashi (Professional)
1993 Lance
Suzuki (Professional)
1992
Damien Jamila (Amateur)
1991 David
Ishii (Professional)
1990 David
Ishii (Professional)
1989 David
Ishii (Professional)
1988
Gregory Meyer (Professional)
1987
Gregory Meyer (Professional)
1986
Akiyoshi Ohmachi (Japan
Professional)
1985
Chris Santangelo
(Professional)
1984
Namio Takasu
(Japan Professional)
1983 David
Ishii (Professional)
1982 David
Ishii (Professional)
1981
Norio Adachi
(Japan Professional)
1980 David
Ishii (Professional)
1979
Namio Takasu
(Japan Professional)
Tournament Records:
-
Most Wins- David Ishii (6)
-
Most Consecutive Wins- David
Ishii (3) 1989, 1990, 1991
-
Youngest to Win- Tadd Fujikawa
(a)
2007 age 16
-
First Amateur to Win- Damien Jamila 1992
-
Youngest Amateur to Win- Tadd
Fujikawa 2007 age 16
-
Lowest Tournament Score (54
holes)-
Katsumasa Miyamoto (JP) 1998 & Jesse
Mueller (P) 2009,
19-under par 197 (par 216)
-
Lowest tournament round, 2005 Satoshi
Shimouchi (JP) 9-under par 62 (Par 71)
-
Lowest
Female Round, Michelle Wie (a) 2004 & Sakura
Yokomine (JP) 2005, 4-under par.
-
Lowest
Female Professional Tournament Score 2005, Sakura
Yokomine (JP) 6-under par 208 (par 214).
-
Lowest
Female Amateur Tournament Score 2004, Michelle Wie (a)
2-under par 214 (par 216).
-
First and youngest female to make
the cut- Michelle Wie (a) 2003 age 13
-
Youngest to make the
cut- Masamichi Ito (ja) 2008 age 12
-
Youngest to qualify- Allisen
Corpuz (a) 2010 age 11
2011:
Although
shortened from 54 to 36 holes due to intense flooding on Friday, the 33rd
annual Hawaii Pearl Open still provided plenty of drama as a diverse group
about a half dozen golfers battled to the tournament’s conclusion on Sunday.
Things got a little more exciting as overnight leader John Ellis
faltered a bit on the front nine before righting the ship and posting nine
solid pars on the back. Ellis’ even-par 72, combined with his first round
64, gave him a two-stroke margin of victory over his two closest rivals.
At one point during the round, Nick Mason had scrapped his way to
within a single stroke, as he birdied four out of his first five holes
before cooling off. Mason’s six-under 69-69–138 performance was matched by
defending Hawaii Pearl Open champion, Akinori Tani (68-70–138).
Canadian pro Nick Taylor
(67-76–143) and Turtle Bay Resorts star Tony Finau (67-74–141), who
shared second place after day one, both fell off the pace. Taylor was ranked
as the number one amateur in the world in 2009 before turning pro last year;
Finau and his brother, Gipper, starred in The Golf Channel’s “Big Break”
reality series. The low round
of the day was turned in by Japanese touring pro Tomokatsu Usuki, who
fired a six-under 66, charging to sole possession of fourth place.
The fourth time was the charm for Ellis,
who had led at one point in all three previous Hawaii Pearl Opens that he
had entered, but never won. It turned out to be an all-University of Oregon
kind of day, as Hawaii’s
Matthew Ma (70-71–141)
captured low amateur honors at 3-under par and T7 overall. Ellis was the
senior captain of the Ducks’ golf team when Ma joined them as a freshman.
2010:
Akinori Tani,
Valentine’s Day proved to be charmed for Akinori
Tani, a 35-year-old pro from Hyogo, Japan who candidly admitted that he
was trying to lay up with his second shot from about 200 yards out on the
par-5 17th hole, when he caught a flyer out of the left rough
with a 9 iron and ended up about 7 feet from the hole. He drained the eagle
putt to seal the deal by 1 shot over professional Nick Mason. After
completing the 2nd round, Tani and his fiancé ran off and got married at the
Calvary by the Sea chapel in the afternoon. He said he thought about waiting
for Valentine’s Day to tie the knot, but had a premonition that if he won,
there would be an awards presentation and media interviews to contend with –
all of which proved to be true. Tani shot a closing round 67 for a
12-under-par total of 204 (67-70-67). Ryutaro Kato, 16, shot
72-68-72—212 to take low amateur honors by one stroke over fellow Japanese
amateurs Yosuke Asaji and Kouki Furuta, who both finished at
3-under 213.
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2009:
Jesse Mueller, a 25-year-old pro from
Arizona, holed out twice for eagles on the par-4 8th and par-4 11th holes at
Pearl Country Club, running away to an eight-stroke victory at the Hawaii
Pearl Open golf tournament. Mueller ended up firing a 7-under par 65 in the
final round for a total of 19-under par over the 54-hole competition, tying
the record low for the 31-year-old tournament.
For the second year in a row, low amateur honors went
to Punahou junior Bradley Shigezawa, who turned in a solid 68 final
round to finish at 6-under, 210, T15 overall.
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2008: Sixteen-year-old
megastar Ryo Ishikawa making his 54 hole professional debut drew the
largest galleries and stampede of media in the 30th Hawaii Pearl Open, but
it was Azuma Yano, a 30-year-old pro from Japan, who fired rounds of
66-69-69—204 (12-under par) to lead wire-to-wire throughout the 54-hole
event. Punahou sophomore Bradley Shigezawa, who turned in a solid
performance with three rounds under par (71-69-68--208, 8-under par) landed
him low amateur honors and a tie for sixth place overall.
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2007:
You couldn’t have scripted a more exciting final round, as crowd
favorite 16-year-old Tadd Fujikawa (a) overcame a three-shot
deficit to win the 29th
Hawaii Pearl Open by one shot with a birdie on the 54th
and final hole over 4-time Hawaii Pearl Open Champion Greg Meyer. Fujikawa's
final score was 11-under par 205 (69-68-68) and he also became the youngest
to ever win the title in tournament history.
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2006: 48-year-old
Japan Golf Tour professional
Tomohiro
Maruyama
fired rounds of 69-65-67 for a 54 hole total of 201, 15-under par to capture
the 28th Hawaii Pearl Open Championship.
Yuki Ito, an 18-year-old high school student from Japan,
repeated as low amateur, 67-69-75—211, 5-under par. Ideal scoring conditions
prevailed in the 28th HPO and players took full advantage as the course gave
up 34 eagles and a mind boggling 1107 birdies to the field.
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2005: 33-year-old
professional Will Yanagisawa (former team mate of Tiger Woods at Stanford University) of Long Beach, CA,
fired rounds of 65-66-69 for a 54 hole total of 200, 14-under par to capture
the 27th Hawaii Pearl Open Championship. The low
amateur was 17-year-old Yuki Ito of Ibaraki, Japan with rounds of
70-67-71--208, 6-under par. The course played to par 71
for the first two rounds due to flooding and a par 72
for the final round, the overall par (54 holes) was 214.
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2004:
42-year-old Japan Golf Tour Professional, Greg Meyer
successfully defended his crown and added his 4th Pearl
Open title to his resume. Meyer rallied from a 3-shot
deficit to win and fired a final round of 5-under par 67
and a tournament total of 13-under par 203. The
interesting thing is that Greg was playing with a set of
clubs he whipped together as his clubs were stolen two
nights before the first round. Kauai's Jonathan Ota
captured the low amateur honors with a 211, 5-under par
T20 and world golf phenom, Michelle Wie finished with a
2-under par 214 good for T38.
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2003: "The
25th anniversary edition of the Hawaii Pearl Open came
down to a tense, crowd-pleasing dogfight over the final
nine holes of the 54-hole event held at the Pearl
Country Club Feb. 7-9, 2003. Hilo-born professional Greg
Meyer entered the final round with a three-stroke lead
over Japan’s Hiroyuki Naito and Utah-based Steve
Schneiter (former national Club Pro Champion), but Meyer
soon encountered problems on the back nine. He
double-bogeyed holes No. 10 and 13, along with a bogey
on No. 12. After a birdie on No. 14, the threesome
reached the par-5 17th hole with Naito holding a
one-stroke edge over Meyer and Schneiter. Meyer eagled
the hole, Schneiter birdied and Naito parred. Meyer,
then holding a one-stroke advantage over both Schneiter
and Naito, parred the 18th hole after a pressure-packed
up-and-down from in front of the green to preserve the
victory at 7-under-par. Naito and Schneiter both missed
birdie attempts on the final hole to finish tied for
second at 6-under-par.
Meyer, who plays professionally
on the Japan professional tour (JGTO), is affiliated
with the Pearl Country Club. This was his third Pearl
Open title, having won it in 1987 and 1988.
Hawaii’s Norman Ganin Asao won
low amateur honors with a solid 72-73-73—218
(2-over-par) performance, which placed him in a tie for
20th place. Fellow amateur Michelle Wie shot
73-74-77—224 (8-over-par). Wie’s performance was
reported throughout the golf world — especially after
she made the 36-hole cut on Saturday. Hobbled by a badly
swollen ankle — the result of bee stings she suffered
during Friday’s opening round — the 13-year-old Wie
still finished in a tie for 43rd place playing from the
same tees as the men. Overall, warm, breezy conditions
helped to dry out Pearl’s notoriously slick greens,
making scoring very difficult. Only 13 of the total 192
golfers entered managed to shoot par or better, making
Meyer’s feat all the more impressive."
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2002:
Japan pro Kiyoshi Murota ran away with the 24th
Annual Hawaii Pearl Open and Punahou School
seventh-grader Michelle Wie became the first female to
play in the tournament.
The 47-year-old Murota, a Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO)
member, fired a final round 7-under-par 65 to win the
2002 Hawaii Pearl Open by five shots over Fiji’s Dinesh
Chand at Pearl Country Club. Murota, who had a 54-hole
total of 11 under 205 also won this tournament in 1997
when he beat Hawaii’s Greg Meyer with a birdie on the
second hole of sudden death. This time, Murota (73-67),
Chand (71-69) and Kaneohe’s Dean Wilson (69-71) were
tied for the lead after two rounds at 4-under 140. All
won JGTO tournaments in 2001, and were paired together
in the final group. Former Pearl Open champions Meyer
and Hilo Muni pro Kevin Hayashi were in the group behind
along with California pro Todd Fischer. At the turn,
Murota was six under, a shot ahead of Chand and two up
on Meyer, who played a limited schedule on the JGTO this
year. Murota birdied No’s. 11, 12, and 13, hitting each
approach to three feet, to pull away. “He always plays
solid, so it was nothing new,” Wilson said. “He birdied
11 and 12, then hit a great shot on 13, a tough par-3,
and birdied that. When he chipped in for eagle on 17
(par-5) it was over.” Chand would stay the closest, but
could not gain ground and finished with a 70 for the
second place at 210. Wilson, who was ranked third on
this past year’s money list with over $900,000 and three
victories, struggled to a 73 – which included a double
bogey on No. 7 – and finished tied for third with
Japan’s Kazuhiro Shimizu (70), Meyer (72), Hayashi (72),
and Fischer (72) at 213. Murota earned $12,000 of the
$80,000 purse. Chand pocketed $9,000, while the four
players tied for third earned $5,100 each. Japan’s
Hiroaki Munetsugu (70-217) was low amateur and tied for
18th overall. Only 15 amateurs made the cut,
which came at 153. Wie, the first female to play the
Pearl Open, missed out. She opened with a 2-over 74,
but ballooned to an 81 for 155 and missed the cut by
three strokes. The top 80 and ties advanced to the final
round. A month later after winning the Pearl Open,
Murota won the JGTO’s Dydo Drinco Shizuoka Open in
Shizuoka, Japan. He shot a final round 69 for a 276
total and a two-stroke victory over Masashi Ozaki and
Jong-Duck Kim. Wilson, a Castle High graduate and a
former Brigham Young University standout, won two
tournaments on the JGTO – the Tsuruya Open in April and
the Mizuno Open in June – and in December, earned his
PGA Tour card by finishing in a six-way tie for 11th
place in the 108-hole PGA Q-School in La Quinta,
California.
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2001:
Japan pro Hidemichi Tanaka and Hilo’s Gregory Meyer
turned the $80,000 tournament into a two-man shoot-out.
Tanaka won, soaring ahead with an eagle on the
next-to-the-last hole and making the one-stroke lead
stand up with a scrambling par on the last. He closed
with an 8-under-par 64, for a 54-hole total of 15-under
201. Meyer shot 65, missing 6-footers on the final two
holes. Both entered the day as pursuers. Defending
champion Kevin Hayashi took a four-shot advantage into
the final round – six ahead of Tanaka and Meyer.
Tanaka, a two-time Japan Open champion and among the top
five on last year’s Japan PGA money list, led the 2000
American Express World Championships after three rounds.
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2000:
Hilo Muni’s Kevin Hayashi, who worked at Pearl from 1984
– 1991, wins his second Open by one shot over Japan’s
Tatsuo Takasaki. Hayashi is the first Hawaii golfer to
win the Open since 1995. He shoots 67 on the final day
for a 14-under 202 total. Takasaki closed with a 66
that includes a penalty shot from the 10th
hole, which he didn’t know about until after his round
was over.
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1999:
Indianapolis pro Jeff Cook birdies the final three holes
to beat Jerry Mullen, Kevin Hayashi and Tomohiro
Maruyama by a shot.
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1998:
Katsumasa Miyamoto shoots final-round 7-under 65 to beat
Hiroyuki Fujita (68-198) by one shot. Miyamoto’s total
of 19-under 197 was four shots better than the previous
record, set by David Ishii in 1989. Miyamoto made the
Top-60 on the JPGA money list in 1997 for the first
time.
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1997:
Kiyoshi Murota beat Greg Meyer with a birdie on the
second hole of sudden death. Murota, Meyer and Hiroyuki
Fujita finished regulation at 3-under 213.
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1996: Shinichi
Yokota became the first professional from Japan in 10
years to hoist the championship trophy in the 18th
annual tournament. Yokota, 24, started the final round
with three consecutive birdies and capped off a sizzling
7-under par 65 with an eagle-3 at the par-5 17th
for a 204 total and a one stroke victory over Tom
Dempsey from Arizona. The last professional from Japan
to take home a Pearl Open title was Akiyoshi Ohmachi, in
1986.
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1995: Lance
Suzuki birdied two of his final three holes to beat
defending champion Kevin Hayashi in the 17th
Hawaii Pearl Open. The 43-year old Suzuki shot a
final-round 3-under par 69 for a 54-hole total of
6-under 210 and a one stroke victory over Hayashi
(70-211), playing in the final group behind Suzuki.
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1994:
Sparked by a hole-in-one a the par-3 16th,
Kevin Hayashi completed a final round 3-under par 69 for
7-under 209 total and a two-stroke victory over Japan’s
Hisayuki Sasaki (74-211).
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1993: Lance
Suzuki won the first of his two Pearl Open titles,
beating Fujio Kobayashi with a birdie on the first
playoff hole.
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1992: Damien
Jamila, of Waimanalo, Hawaii, became the first amateur
to win the Hawaii Pearl Open. Jamila also won the
Hawaii State amateur championship at the Pearl Country
Club course.
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1991: David
Ishii won his third consecutive Hawaii Pearl Open
championship and sixth overall with a 14-under 202 total
and a five –shot victory over Japan’s Koichi Moriguchi.
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1990:
Windy conditions and slick greens sent scores soaring.
David Ishii made it two in a row with a 4-under 212
total, the second highest winning score in tournament
history.
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1989: A
tournament record 15-under 201 total boosted David Ishii
to the first of his record-setting three consecutive
victories. Purse was increased to $80,000.
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1988: Pearl
Country Club assistant Professional Gregory Meyer
captured his second straight Hawaii Pearl Open title
with a 204 total. Purse was increased to $70,000.
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1987: Gregory
Meyer, a Hilo native, shoots 206 for 54 holes and wins
his first Hawaii Pearl Open title.
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1986: Japan’s
Akiyoshi Ohmachi, who later played on the American and
Japan PGA tours, wins with a 206 total.
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1985: Chris
Santangelo, the 1983 Hawaii State Amateur champion,
claimed a two-shot victory with a 206 total. The purse
was increased $15,000 to $50,000.
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1984:
Namio Takasu won his second Hawaii Pearl Open title with
a 204 total. The purse was increased to $35,000.
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1983: David
Ishii sets a tournament record of 13-under 203 in
winning his second straight and third Hawaii Pearl Open
championship.
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1982: An
8-under 208 broke the tournament record by four strokes
and gave David Ishii his second Hawaii Pearl Open
title. The purse was increased to $25,000.
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1981: Japan’s
Norio Adachi, a tournament favorite throughout the
years, shot 212 to claim the championship. The purse
was increased to $20,000.
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1980: David
Ishii, who turned professional 11 months before the
tournament, the first of his six Hawaii Pearl Open
titles, with 214 total. The purse was increased to
$15,000.
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1979:
Namio Takasu of Japan won the inaugural $10,000
tournament with a 215 total, one shot better than fellow
Japanese pro Hideo Ishii. David Ishii finished as low
amateur with a 226 total.
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