John Shaw figured he blew it with his double-bogey on No. 17, and that was before he missed a birdie putt on 18. Shaw assumed he needed that one to have a chance Tuesday at Waikele Country Club on Oahu.
Blame it on his lack of tournament golf of late, because the 57-year-old from Kailua-Kona thought wrong.
Shaw would have preferred to have shaved a few strokes off his 3-over 75, but there is time and opportunity for improvement after he captured the lone qualifying spot Tuesday at the U.S. Senior Amateur qualifier.
“My handicap index is 0.7 right now, and (I) would like it to be better,” Shaw wrote in a email to the Tribune-Herald. “As far as my 75, I most certainly could have shot a lower number, but at the same time the wind was blowing and there is always extra pressure when competing in a tournament.”
He’s still getting used to the feeling. Shaw said he played in the qualifier a couple of years ago as well as a Big Island Amateur in the past five years. In June, he retired as the general manager at The Club at Hokulia in Kealakekua.
“I recently decided I would play more tournament golf,” he said.
The Senior Amateur is in late August in Durham, N.C.
The only other Big Islander in the 14-player field, Waimea’s Kenneth Zecchini, finished tied for eighth at 9-over. Oahu’s Mike Kawate and Paul Kimura finished at 76 and earned alternate spots.
Shaw made the turn at even-par before running into adversity on the back nine. He had a opportunity to get back to par on the 550-yard 15th, but his 5-foot birdie putt lipped out. On the par-3 17th, Shaw “hit what I thought was a great tee shot but it ended up in a bunker, and the bunker shot was very difficult, which ultimately led to the double-bogey.”
His ball striking was on point for much of the round. Shaw played the course’s four par-5 holes at 2-under.
“I generally play par 5s better than average as I am known as a big hitter,” he said.
• Hilo’s Isaiah Kanno held steady Wednesday at the Junior America’s Cup with a 2-over 73, leading the Hawaii foursome through 36 holes in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Kanno’s round included three birdies and a double-bogey, and he was 3-over heading into a final round and in a tie for 22nd in the 72-golfer field. Washington’s Ian Siebers (67) got to 10-under and led by four shots.
With another 8-over 221, Hawaii fell a spot to 13th (of 18). San Diego was 10-under, leading Southern California and Oregon by eight strokes.
Hawaii’s best-scorer in the second round was Oahu’s Joshua Hayashida, who shot a 71 and was 7-over, a stroke behind Blaze Nakana (77). Noah Koshi also shot 77 and was 13-over.
