It’s getting to the point where a young golf professional in Hawaii can win a $4,000 first-place check, such as Sean Maekawa did this year, without even winning! (He came in 2nd two years in a row, and turned pro last December).
Instead of an Aloha Section PGA pro, or some other pro from afar capturing the title, it was instead the cock-sure, upcountry-bred, teen-aged junior golfing amateur, Alex Chiarella, who stole the show by a nice margin of three shots.
The University of San Diego-bound soon-to-be-freshman had a five shot lead after carding an event low of 66 on day one. The Hali‘imaile Pineapple Tournament of Champions winner then cruised on home with a cushy even-par 72, for a two-day score of 66-72-138. This is the second time in the last three starts that Chiarella has had the overnight lead heading into the final round.
On the flip side of this event’s four-sided (or flighted) coin was the veteran Maui pro, Dean Prince, who quietly captured the Super Senior’s division title. For the young and old, there was glory to be had.
In between the duo was the Senior division crown, which was won by none other than the famed Oklahoma-turned-Maui-boy: Captain Kirk Nelson. Kirk-shire has won the division twice in the past three years. Quite the feat, give how far away from the ball his eyes are (he looms).
Lest I forget: the real golf fans were out in force this year, and it was a familiar face: Rob Madow, who finished in 1st Place in the ‘A’ Flight.
The Dunes at Maui Lani Golf Course has hosted the Maui Open since 2010. The event’s title sponsor was Damien Farias and Maui Toyota. Ralph Miyamoto was on hand to collect the $1,000 check donated by Dave Gleason and Damien Farias, on behalf of Maui Junior Golf, the official charity this year.
