Joshua Hayashida and Shayna Lu have something new in common. They’ve both golfed since a young age and they are now the 2021 Interscholastic League of Honolulu golf champions.
They got it done Wednesday at the league’s championship match on a sun-drenched day at Pearl County Club.
Lu, a Punahou senior, was a happy camper after finishing at 2-over 74. She didn’t worry despite suffering a series of bogeys on her final nine.
Hayashida, a Hawaii Baptist junior, carded a 3-under 69, and though he’s done better at the course, he’ll take it.
Hawaii Baptist’s Joshua Hayashida and Punahou’s Shayna Lu are the 2020-21 ILH golf champs.
(Bedrock Sports photo by Nick Abramo).
“Overall, I was hitting the greens and making the putts I should be making,” Hayashida, who previously shot a 66 at Pearl in a practice round, told Bedrock Sports Hawaii after the win.
Birdies on Nos. 1, 3, 7, 12, 17 and 18 allowed him to stay under par for the day, despite a bogey on four and a double on 13.
In the ILH’s seven previous tournaments this season, Hayashida got off to a hot start by winning the first two.
“My work ethic this week (helped),” he added. “Last week, I shot 81 on this course, so I just worked really hard to get my game together. I think I hit 16 greens today. My practice really made it happen.”
In 2019 at the ILH championships (no tournament was held last year due to COVID-19), Hayashida tied for third.
“I was up by four two years ago after the first round and the last day I blew it, so to be an ILH champion this year is a lot more satisfying for how much work I put in.”
Lu, who will be golfing on scholarship at Seattle University in the fall, was ecstatic while sharing leis with her teammates after finishing her victorious round.
“It’s my senior year and it was my last tournament so it feels really good,” she said.
Lu, who started Wednesday on Pearl’s back nine, got off to a great start, shooting 2-under 34, thanks to birdies on Nos. 13, 17 and 18 and a bogey on No 12.
Four straight bogeys on her back nine — at Nos. 3 through 6 — could have been her downfall, but she didn’t panic.
“It was hard to get over the four consecutive bogeys,” she said. “I wasn’t freaking out or anything. I tried to stay pretty calm during the round. I don’t let bad shots ruin the mood. But I had fun with the people I played with (Kamehameha’s Kristen Hall, ‘Iolani’s Nicole Tanoue and Mid-Pacific’s Eunice Han) so that definitely helped. The more I loosened up, the better I played.”
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ALSO AT BedrockSportsHawaii.com: Kamehameha Awarded No. 1 Seed in ILH Baseball Tournament
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