University of Hawaiʻi men’s golfer Josh Hayashida captured the 114th Mānoa Cup with a remarkable come-from-behind win in the 36-hole final against Kīhei Akina, 2&1, June 24 at the Oʻahu Country Club.
The Mililani, Oʻahu native was 3-down after the morning 18, and trailed by as much as four holes with eight to play. That’s when Hayashida won six holes in a row (-3 in that span) to take a 2-up lead with two holes to play. The pair both parred 17 to give the Hawaiʻi Baptist Academy alumnus the 2&1 victory.
In addition to Hayashida, two other Rainbow Warriors advanced to the quarterfinal round—Isaiah Kanno and James Whitworth. Kanno lost his match to Evan Kawai in 19 holes while Whitworth took down two-time defending champion Peter Jung in the round of 16 before falling to Akina, 1-up, in the quarterfinals. The 64-man match play also included UH golfers Blaze Akana (lost in round of 32) and Zachary Sagayaga (lost in round of 32 to Hayashida).
In his first season as a Rainbow Warrior, Hayashida competed in all 10 tournaments with a 74.0 scoring average. He posted two top 10 finishes, including a tie for 10th at the season-opening William H. Tucker Intercollegiate, where he carded a season-best 3-under 213. The 2022 Hawaiʻi state champion was also the 2021 Hawaiʻi State Golf Association Player of the Year.
Hayashida became the first current UH golfer to win Hawaiʻi‘s most prestigious and oldest amateur tournament since T.J. Kua captured the 2009 title. Nainoa Calip won in 2014, although a couple months after the completion of his UH career, and Jared Sawada took the 2013 title, a year after completing his UH career.
Other recent Rainbow Warriors who won the Mānoa Cup include Travis Toyama (2005), Ryan Perez (2004) and Kellen-Floyd Asao (2003). Perez won the title before entering his freshman season at UH while Toyama also captured the 2002 title at the age of 15.
For more, visit the UH Mānoa Athletics website.
