ALOHA! David Howard Victorious in Hawaii
Last week a team of two boys and two girls competed in The Pearl Junior Open and the Oahu Junior Golf Association Junior Open in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Oahu Junior Golf Association (OJGA) visits Australia each year to compete in the JNJG International and 2018 is the first year JNJG has been able to send an Australian team to Hawaii.
A strong contingent of ACT players was selected in the Australian Team, David Howard (Belconnen and Gungahlin Lakes Golf Clubs), Adam Coull (The Lakes Golf Club), Isabelle Hawes (Royal Canberra Golf Club) and Amber Thornton (Queanbeyan Golf Club). These players have been long-term competitors in JNJG events and soon will be emerging from the junior ranks.
Although all members of the team performed outstandingly, the highlight of the week was David Howard’s win in the OJGA Junior Open. This event was played over two rounds at Leilelua Golf Course, Schofield Barracks and Hawaii Prince Golf Club, Ewa Beach, Hawaii. The course at Leiluha comprised of couch fairways with undulating grainy greens. David posted a 3 under 69 opening round to leave him one shot in front of local junior, Peter Jung. The Hawaii Prince course was a true test of golf particularly with the strong winds impacting heavily on ball flight. With the support of his team mates David maintained his composure and played consistently throughout the final round to finish with a total of 5 under par 139, 4 shots ahead of Peter Jung. Congratulations to David on his first international win.
Fellow teammate, Adam Coull, who played in the final group with David, carded a par round on the second day to finish in 4th place, with a total for the tournament of 147. This matched his performance in the Pearl Junior Open earlier in the week when he carded a six over par, 150. Adam was so proud of David and reported “David put it close all day and made plenty of putts. I kept saying to him, he has got this.”
The girls also performed outstandingly with Isabelle Hawes securing a second place (total 155) at the Pearl Junior Open and a fourth place (total 163) at OJGA Junior Open. Amber Thornton hit the ball solidly all week and achieved a fourth place (total 157) at Pearl and a second place (total 158) at Hawaii Prince.
The experience in Hawaii was a valuable one with the weather conditions being so oppressive in the heat and humidity. The players were also exposed to significant grain in the greens, something they had not previously experienced. This had a major impact on their ability to hole putts, however with assistance from the locals they soon learned, and their putting improved.
The players achieved highly and expressed their appreciation for the support provided by JNJG, OJGA, Srixon and their parents with comments including, “It was the trip of a lifetime!”
Full Results for the 2018 Pearl Junior Open Click Here
Full Results for the 2018 OJGA Junior Open Click Here
