The 57 players in the Championship Flight were unable to best the Dunes at Maui Lani Golf Course today as the normal trade winds and course architect Robin Nelson’s design was too powerful for them.
In spite of the fact that pst of this field has played the Dunes to death, and many spend all their days (and often many nights) toiling away at mastering their precious egos, the bruisings were there just the same.
Jared Sawada, the Mililani-raised Oahu golfer who won the 105th Manoa Cup in 2013 joined three others (Ariel Elftman-Hanson, Ryan Acosta and Tyler Munetake) in a tie for the lead, at three-over-par with 75s in their opening rounds, to lead this field of pros and amateurs from all over Hawaii.
“We’re pleased to be hosting the Maui Open here at the Dunes at Maui Lani Golf Course ,” Rusty Dooge, the course’s general manager said in a press release before the Valley Isle golf tournament, dating back to the 1050s, began yesterday.
“The event itself has a storied past, and given that the Dunes was intended to be akin to the classic championship links from ‘across the pond’, I think all would agree that it is a win/win situation for our community, and us too,” Dooge explains.
The event, which also has A flight, senior and super senior divisions, with 116 total players, concludes today.
