HONOLULU – University of Hawai'i men's golfer
Josh Hayashida captured the 114
th Mānoa Cup with a come-from-behind win in the 36-hole final against Kīhei Akina, 2&1, Saturday at the O'ahu Country Club.
The Mililani, O'ahu native became the first UH golfer to win O'ahu's prestigious amateur tournament since T.J. Kua captured the 2009 title. Nainoa Calip won in 2014, although a couple months after the completion of his UH career, and Jared Sawada took the 2013 title, a year after completing his UH career.
Hayashida trailed Akina 4-down with eight holes to play before making a remarkable comeback, winning six consecutive holes for a 2-and-1 victory. Hayashida was 3-down after Saturday's first 18 holes.
In addition to Hayashida, two other Rainbow Warriors advanced to the quarterfinal round –
Isaiah Kanno and
James Whitworth. Kanno lost his match to Evan Kawai in 19 holes while Whitworth took down two-time defending champion Peter Jung in the Round of 16 before falling to Akina, 1-up in the quarterfinals.
The 64-man match play also included UH golfers
Blaze Akana (lost in Round of 32) and
Zachary Sagayaga (lost in Round of 32 to Hayashida).
In his first season as a Rainbow Warrior, Hayashida competed in all 10 tournaments with a 74.0 scoring average. He posted two Top 10 finishes, including a tie for 10
th at the season-opening William H. Tucker Intercollegiate, where he carded a season-best 3-under 213. The 2022 Hawai'i state champion was also the 2021 Hawai'i State Golf Association Player of the Year.
Other recent Rainbow Warriors who won the Mānoa Cup include Travis Toyama (2005), Ryan Perez (2004), and Kellen-Floyd Asao (2003). Perez won the title before entering his freshman season at UH while Toyama also captured the 2002 title at the age of 15.
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