Kyeton Littel’s strength through three UH-Hilo golf seasons has been his consistent play.
Never too high, never too low. Steady with the driver, steady with the irons, steady on the greens.
That’s all fine and dandy, but in 2015 he’s got to be the Man for the Vulcans to click.
“We need him to shoot in the 60s,” coach Earl Tamiya said. “We’ve already talked to him about it.
“We’re totally untested. Kyeton needs to pull through.”
Littel, a senior from Maui, finished 23rd at the PacWest championships and qualified for regionals along with Dalen Yamauchi, where he shot 24-over.
Yamauchi’s exhausted his eligibility, so for the the first time in a while UH-Hilo doesn’t return a golfer with a collegiate victory on his resume.
It was just a few years ago that Tamiya was worrying about which golfer he was going to lose to the lure of Division I. That’s not a concern this year.
“It should be interesting,” Tamiya said.
On their season-opening trip to Washington, the Vulcans will make stops at the Saint Martin’s Invitational (Friday-Saturday) and the Western Washington Intercollegiate (Monday and Tuesday). As usual, the fall portion of the schedule wraps up with the Dennis Rose Intercollegiate, Oct. 30-31 at Waikoloa Kings’ Course.
“These first two tournaments, the courses we’re playing, you have to keep the ball in play,” Tamiya said. “Older courses with big trees lining the fairways.
“It should play to Kyeton’s strengths.”
Tamiya hopes that’s also the case for Jim Coon, Jared Kinoshita, David Tottori Jr. and Hilo graduate Ric Yamamoto.
Coon, a sophomore who is long and lean at 6-foot-3 and 160 pounds, peaked at the end of the last season with a 69 to open the PacWest championships, finishing tied for seventh.
He could use a little of Littel’s even-mindedness, Tamiya said.
“Jim is one you have to watch. If he makes one bogey, they can pile up,” he said. “Kyeton will grind away, and Jim needs to learn to do that.
“I expect good things from Jim. If Kyeton and Jim don’t play well, we’re in trouble.”
If there is a big hitter off the tee in the bunch, it’s Kinoshita, 5-4 freshman. As with many first-year players, Kinoshita has been prone to jitters during preseason practice rounds.
“A fast player and sometimes he makes mistakes,” Tamiya said. “He analyzes his shots too much. Eventually, he’ll be a real solid player for us.”
Tottori qualified for the season-opening trip last year as a freshman, but he never improved on the 227 he shot at Saint Martin. He was 35th at the league finals.
“If David can keep the ball in play, he’ll be OK,” Tamiya said. “David’s problem is off the tee.”
Yamamoto, a senior, qualified for only his second trip to the mainland with the Vulcans, and his career-best finish was 10th at Dennis Rose in 2014.
He knows it’s now or never.
“He needs to eliminate some mistakes and he’ll be fine,” Tamiya said.
