It came down to the last hole in the quarterfinals for Dalen Yamauchi, who needed a birdie on Friday to continue his quest at the 108th Manoa Cup.
It came down to the last hole in the quarterfinals for Dalen Yamauchi, who needed a birdie on Friday to continue his quest at the 108th Manoa Cup.
Instead, Justin Taparra birdied the par-4 18th hole while Yamauchi parred and saw his run at the amateur match-play championship end at Oahu Country Club.
Despite his 1-up victory, Taparra, a Chaminade senior-to-be golfer, had little time to celebrate and took a lopsided 5-and-3 loss to Brent Grant in the semifinals.
Grant, an Oregon State golfer and Moanalua graduate, will battle Maui’s Justin Ngan, a Baldwin senior-to-be, for the championship.
Yamauchi, a former UH-Hilo golfer and Waiakea graduate, was shooting to become the first Big Island product to win the Manoa Cup since 2014.
That year, Nainoa Calip, a former UH-Manoa golfer and Kamehameha graduate, won the title.
The last Vul golfer to capture the Manoa Cup was Shane Hoshino, a Mililani grad, in 1999.
Other Big Island golfers were:
• Hilo’s Kailey Oki, tied for fifth, 13-over 85, girls 10-12
• Hilo’s Lacey Uchida, T6, 82, girls 13-14
• Hilo’s Shon Katahira, T20, 79, boys 16-18