KOHALA COAST, Hawai'i – Winds on the northwest side of the Big Island died down on Tuesday and so did the scores at the 2024 Pacific West Conference Men's Golf Championships at the Mauna Lani Golf Course.
When all was said and done, local team Hawai'i Hilo had moved to a nine-shot lead (+19) after recording the lowest round of the day (286). The other two Hawai'i schools remain in the top three, just like on Monday, with HPU second (+29) and Chaminade third (+39). Dominican jumped two spots into fourth (+48), followed by Academy of Art (+50) and Westmont (+67).
The final 18 holes are on Wednesday with a 9:40 a.m. Hawai'i Team start for the men. The Vulcans are looking to go back-to-back after winning the 2023 title in Arizona.
While Hilo put some distance between themselves and the rest of the field, the battle for the medalist trophy is tight as can be. There is a three-way tie at the top with HPU's Shion Suzuki, Chaminade's Ky Stopp and Hawai'i Hilo's Nicholas Gomez all sharing the top run with a +2 score. Suzuki, who was in fourth place yesterday, moved into the share of first with a round of 70. That equaled the low score of the day.
Hilo's Dylan Bercan is just one shot back of that trio (+3) after shooting a two-under par 70 today. Three shots back of the leaders is Academy of Art's Jack DeBeneditti at +5.
