Andrew Paisley and Ciera Min were both playing as part of threesomes, but they were so far out in front, they really only had to worry about themselves.
Andrew Paisley and Ciera Min were both playing as part of threesomes, but they were so far out in front, they really only had to worry about themselves.
What had worked so well for two rounds carried over to a third.
Neither senior golfer decided to dabble much with drama Thursday as they eased to wire-to-wire victories at the Big Island Interscholastic Federation championships.
The day at Mauna Kea Golf Club was especially sweet for Hawaii Prep’s Paisley, who claimed his first title after three runner-up finishes.
“It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” said Paisley, who carded an 80 to take home an 11-stroke victory.
He said the greens at Mauna Kea made the scoring conditions the toughest of the tournament, but Paisley increased his already sizeable 10-shot lead by two strokes on the front nine.
Still, considering his close calls the past few years, he didn’t allow himself to start soaking in the victory until the 17th green.
“This ranks pretty high,” he said. “After the past couple of years, this feels nice. A lot of people have been saying, ‘Good job.’”
He finished at 219, 11 strokes better than Hilo Davin Yagi (81). Kealakehe’s Steve Kim (84) was another three shots back.
The girls competition was even more of a race for second.
Min graded her 77 as a “C.”
“Me, personally, I thought my score was OK,” she said. “I struggled with a little bit of everything.”
But she hardly needed the A-game she brought during the first two rounds to repeat as champion.
“This is really important to me because BIIFs is a big deal,” Min said. “Anything can happen in golf. You really just have to focus on yourself.”
In doing so, she doubled a 12-stroke lead into a 24-shot victory, finishing at 222. By the middle of her round, Min was able to enjoy the battle for runner-up between her Waiakea teammates, Andi Igawa (87) and Shaina Mizusawa (90). Igawa finished second by a stroke.
“They started playing well during in the middle (rounds),” Min said. “That was fun.”
The top performers received medals.
Hilo’s Amanda Loeffler and Kamehameha’s Shantel Antonio were fourth and fifth on the girls side, while Parker’s Max Elster and Waiakea’s Trevor Hirata rounded out the boys top five.
Elster and Kamehameha’s Cody Pereira eached carded 77s for the best boys rounds of the day.
The Hawaii High School Athletic Association tournaments will be held at Kaanapali Resort on Maui. The girls tee off April 30-May 1, while the boys play May 7-8.