HONOLULU – University of Hawai'i men's golf coach announced the addition of Isaiah Kanno of Hilo, Hawai'i and Kanapos Visuttipinate of Bangkok, Thailand for the 2020-21 season.
 
Kanno, a graduate of Waiākea High School, won the Hawai'i State Golf Association Stroke Play Championship in March at the Leilehua Golf Course just before the coronavirus pandemic put a halt to the high school athletic season. Kanno was looking to repeat as Big Island Interscholastic Federation medalist and improve on his 15^thplace finish at last season's Hawai'i High School Athletic Association state championship. 
 
The Hilo, Hawai'i native also won the Hawai'i State Junior Golf Association state championship in 2018 and was runner-up in 2019. For his 2018 win, he was invited to compete in the 2019 Sony Open Pro/Junior Challenge. Also in 2018, Kanno represented Hawai'i and the HSJGA at the Junior America's Cup in Anaconda, Mont., and was runner-up at the HSJGA Tournament of Champions.
 
In 2019, Kanno won the HSJGA Big Island Classic and shared medalist honors at the Aloha Section PGA Junior Championship.
 
"Early on in our recruitment process for Isaiah, we had some very honest discussions as to improvements that he needed to make in his golf game to be considered for an opportunity to play for us," head coach Ronn Miyashiro said. "To his credit, he took that advice and within the last year, he has clearly established himself as maybe the best golfer to come out of Hawai'i in this year's class. His win at the Hawai'i State Amateur Championships right before the pandemic lockdown has only elevated his standing in the Hawai'i golf amateur rankings. We look for him to have a smooth transition to the Division I level and contribute to our team immediately."
 
Visuttipinate, a graduate of The American School of Bangkok, has spent the past two summers in Florida, competing in the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour. In 2019, he placed in the top five of four events while capturing the Augusta Junior Open. During those tournaments, he averaged 72.9 strokes per round. Also that year, he was Thailand's A-Class champion and was the Thailand JRGA Optimist International junior champion.
 
In 2018, Visuttipinate placed in the top five in three HJGT events and also captured the Shenandoah Valley Golf Course International championship. 
 
"The funny thing about Ratio (Kanapos' nickname) is that he showed up on my radar almost by accident," Miyashiro said. "Per some recommendations by a friend in Thailand, I had been following another prospect and Ratio's name kept popping up near or on top of tournament leaderboards. My focus quickly shifted, and long story short, we were able to secure his commitment.
 
"To go with his victories in Thailand, Ratio has spent the last two summers in America playing a number of events, including the World Junior Championship and all the USGA Championship qualifiers. He also had a full tournament schedule on the very competitive Hurricane Junior Tour on the East Coast, where he won two events. Spending summers competing against some of the best junior golfers in the country these past few years will hopefully springboard him to contributing quickly for us this fall."