Former UH-Hilo golfer Nick Matsushima and Hilo’s Isaiah Kanno advanced to the round of 64 at the 109th Manoa Cup on Tuesday.
In match play, Matsushima defeated Joe Phensavath 5 and 3 while Kanno beat Desmond Mello 6 and 5 at Honolulu’s Oahu Country Club.
Also in the round of 64, Tyler Isono defeated Hilo’s Kala‘i Pomroy 6 and 5 while Jeff Weinstein beat Hilo’s Preston Ching 1 up.
Matsushima edged Phensavath by a stroke on holes 1, 2, 8, 14, and 15 to win with five holes up with three holes left.
Kanno, the BIIF golf champion from Waiakea, won seven holes: 1, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, and 12. Mello took holes 2 and 9. Then he and Mello tied on the 13th, but Kanno was safely ahead for the 6 and 5 victory.
Isono beat Pomroy on holes 2, 5, 7, 8, 11, and 13.
Ching had a back-and-forth battle with Weinstein that lasted until the 18th hole.
Weinstein was 2 up after the ninth hole. Then Ching won three straight, holes 10, 11, and 12, to go 1 up.
Weinstein answered with wins on the next three holes to jump ahead 2 up. Ching took the 17th hole to cut the deficit to 1 up.
Ching needed to win the 18th to extend the match. But they both finished with a par 4 tie on the last hole.
Matsushima, runner-up in the 2012 edition of the state amateur match play championship, will face Honolulu’s Davis Lee at 8:28 a.m. Wednesday in the round of 32 while Kanno will battle Honolulu’s Remington Hirano at 9:08 a.m.
