'AIEA, Hawai'i – As far as debuts go, it's pretty hard to top the Hawaii Hilo start for transfer Keith Ng.
Ng shot a four-under 68 to move to the top of the leader board and claim the HPU Sharks Shootout on Monday at the Pearl Country Club. In doing so, he moved past 2021 Pacific West Conference champion Keita Okada of HPU and UH Manoa's Jake Sequin, who led the former University of British Columbia player by a stroke after Monday's round.
Ng ended up winning the two-day tournament by four strokes with his 73-68 (-3) score. Okada was second (+1) and Ng's teammate Andrew Otani was third (73-73) at +2.
The team score was even closer. The Rainbow Warriors took the team title at +23, followed by the Vulcans (+24) and HPU (+25). The host Sharks were the first-day leaders by three strokes, and the Vulcans were ten shots back on Sunday.
The good news/bad news? Otani played great, but his score wasn't included in UHH's team score as he wasn't in his teams starting group, but was playing as an individual. Dustin Franko rebounded from a rough opening round of 81 to a one-under scorecard of 71 today. He tied for seventh place with teammate Nicholas Gomez (76-76).
Ng might be the first Vulcan to ever win a tournament in his UH Hilo debut. That is, according to head coach Earl Tamiya, who has led the program since 1991. "I can't remember anyone doing that, partially because I am so old," the popular coach joked. "That is a pretty impressive way to start, no doubt about it."
Ng, who played one season each at British Columbia and Midland (TX), had an impressive nine birdies and 22 pars over his 36 holes. Otani had seven birdies and an eagle.
It was an impressive debut for a Vulcan team that is mostly intact after finishing second at last spring's PacWest Championships. Now, they have the addition of Ng, whose debut will be hard to top.
Next action for the Vulcans will be Sept. 24-25 in the state of Washington at the St. Martin's Invitational.
2021 HPU Sharks Shootout Individual Leaderboard
| NAME |
PLACE |
SCORE |
RD TOTALS |
NOTES |
| K. Ng |
No. 1 |
-3 |
73–68 (141) |
9 Birdies |
| A. Otani* |
No. 3 |
+2 |
73–73 (146) |
1 Eagle
7 Birdies |
| D. Franko |
No. T7 |
+8 |
81–71 (152) |
7 Birdies |
| N. Gomez |
No. T7 |
+8 |
76–76 (152) |
2 Birdies |
| N. Lau |
No. T17 |
+11 |
79–76 (155) |
3 Birdies |
| E. Hironaga |
No. T20 |
+15 |
81–78 (159) |
2 Birdies |
| J. Lee* |
No. 26 |
+21 |
81–81 (162) |
3 Birdies |
* Competed as Individual
2021 HPU Sharks Shootout
| TEAM |
TO PAR |
RD SCORES |
TOP SCORER |
| 1. UH Manoa |
+23 |
302–297 (599) |
4 – M. Lloyd |
| 2. Hawai'i Hilo |
+24 |
309–291 (600) |
1 – K. Ng |
| 3. HPU |
+25 |
299–302 (601) |
2 – K. Okada |
| 4. HPU "B" |
+43 |
310–309 (619) |
5 – L. Shamblin |
| 5. Chaminade |
+78 |
342–312 (654) |
17 – S. Peterson |
