Gambler's Classic Big Break Challenge!

ATTENTION ALL GAMBLER'S CLASSIC PARTICIPANTS. Come challenge yourself at the Gambler’s Classic Big Break Challenge! Win your share of over $1000 IN CASH AND PRIZES! Incredible prizes will be raffled away at the end of the tournament for all those who take the Gambler's Classic Big Break Challenge! Prizes include: a FREE 1-year Membership to the Hawaii Tour, FREE Hawaii Tour Tournament Entry Gift Certificates, discounted rounds of golf, and more will all be given away!!!

Three challenging stations await you, putting, chipping, and a greenside bunker. Each player that takes the challenge will receive 2 shots at each station as well as a raffle ticket just for playing. If you hole out any 1 of those shots, you could win your share of the CASH PRIZE JACKPOT! Any shot that finishes inside the circle of your target will receive another entry into the raffle increasing your chances of winning!!!

THE MORE YOU PLAY, THE MORE WE GIVE AWAY!!!

The Challenge will only be available from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm, so get there early and see if you’ve got what it takes to WIN BIG in the Gambler's Classic Big Break Challenge!!!

2011 Ko Olina Championship Recap

2011 Ko Olina Championship Winners Crowned

Ko Olina, HI—The Golf Channel Am Tour Hawaii wrapped up the 2011 Ko Olina Championship on Saturday afternoon at the beautiful Ko Olina Golf Club. Blustery winds of over 25+ mph and passing showers added to the always challenging greens which faced the Tour players on Saturday. Even with the difficult weather conditions, a few of the players were able to shoot lights out and completely seperate themselves from the rest of the field.

Palmer Flight: In the Palmer Flight, Dennis Harrison jumped out to an early lead after consecutive birdies on holes 3 and 4 to get him to 1-under par for the championship. Dennis, fresh off his playoff loss in Maui, wanted to send a statement to the rest of the field. Even though he had struggled a little in the middle of his round, he was able to finish strong with consecutive birdies again on holes 17 and the difficult 18th. Dennis finished the Ko Olina Championship with a 9-shot lead over the rest of the field and won his 2nd event of the 2011 season with a round of 74. Darryl Wassum, of Ewa Beach, HI, started out a little shaky but was able to turn things around with birdies on hole 5 and 6. Unfortunately it was not enough to catch the leader, as Darryl finished in solo 2nd with a round of 83. Rounding out the top 3 was Ed Aguilar, from Kihei, HI. After winning his first competitive event, Ed managed to card another top 3 finish in his career on the Am Tour with a round of 85.

Hogan Flight: In the Hogan Flight, Andy Sulzer of Kaimuki, HI, showed his consistency and determination to the rest of the field as he won for the 3rd time this season, with the last 2 wins coming back to back. With a only a 1-shot lead at the turn, Andy was able to make his way around the challenging back nine without any big numbers on his scorecard. As he stepped up to the 18th tee with a 5-stroke lead on the field, Andy was able to close the deal with a bogey and finish on top with a round of 79. Greg Duldulao of Pearl City, HI jumped out to an early lead with a birdie on the 1st hole, but saw his lead diminish after a triple-bogey on #6. After making the turn only 1-shot off the lead, Greg faltered on the back nine with three bogeys and two doubles to finish in solo 2nd with an 11-over 83. Chris Fujiwara, of Waikolo, HI, provided some fireworks in his last event on Tour. He started out strong with 5 consecutive pars and found himself only one back at the turn. Chris ran into trouble on holes 10, 12, and 13 and wasn't able to recover the ground he gave up to eventual winner Andy Sulzer. Unwavering, Chris managed to finish off his career with 3 consecutive pars to round out the top 3 with a round of 84.

Sr. Hogan Flight: In the Senior Hogan Flight, Bernie Lam Ho of Makakilo, HI, dominated the rest of the field and won his 4th tournament of the year in dramatic fashion. He was a force to be reckoned with and showed why he is the point leader in his flight. After bogeying the first hole, Bernie bounced back with consecutive birdies on holes 6 and 7. After dropping another shot on the difficult par-3 8th hole, Bernie put together a string of eight pars, one birdie, and only one bogey over last ten holes. Bernie Lam Ho finished on top with the tournament low round of 72 and an 11-shot lead over the rest of the field. Although Bernie ran away with the win, there was a very heated race for 2nd. Randy Teixeira, from Pearl City, HI, actually led the tournament for a stretch as he found himself 2-under par stepping up to the 8th hole. After bogeying holes 8 and 9, he made the turn tied for the lead. However, Randy struggled coming down the stretch to finish in a 4-way tie for 2nd at 11-over 83. Also finishing in that 4-way tie was Ian MacLean, of Aiea, HI, who seemed poised to steal one away from Bernie until the disastrous 10th hole. Craig Gallagher and Mike Ramia also finished in the 4-way tie for 2nd place, with Mike giving the field a jolt with his hole-out eagle from the fairway on 17.

Sarazen Flight: In the Sarazen Flight, Michael Nishikawa of Ewa Beach, HI edged out the field as he won his 2nd event of the 2011 season. After a very solid showing on the front nine making the turn in 6-over par 42, Michael quickly found trouble on the back nine posting 3 doubles in only 4 holes. However, he quickly bounced back with a birdie on the par-5 14th hole which gave him the 1-shot lead he would eventually take into the winner's circle. Mike finished on top of the leaderboard with a 1-stroke margin of victory over the field with an 86. Lewis Kidd of Cupertino, CA, gave a brilliant effort and closed the gap on Nishikawa on the back nine, but came up just short on the final hole to finish in solo 2nd place with a round of 87. Rey Garo of Aiea, HI, put up a valiant effort as well and found himself only one shot off the lead with 2 holes to play. He wasn't able to find the right club as he finished with double and triple bogey to finish in a 3-way tie for 3rd with Bruce Legrand of Houston, TX, and Edward Medeiros of Honolulu, HI.

Jones Flight: In the Jones Flight, Kyle Paishon of Pearl City, HI was tired of knocking on the door and decided to break it down for his 1st win of the 2011 season. Kyle served notice to all on the front nine with a blistering score of 4-over par 40. Unfortunately, he was assessed a two stroke penatly on the 10th hole for trying to be a good samaritan, but as they say..."No good deed goes unpunished." Even with his penalty, Kyle managed to put together a very respectable back-nine score of 8-over par 44. In the end, Kyle's final round score of 84 was just enought ot hold off defending champion Barbara Syler, of Kapolei, HI, for 1st place. Barabara seemed to determined to successfully defend her title at the 2011 Ko Olina Championship, but was ultimately thwarted by a double bogey on the par-3 16th hole. Even though Barbara wasn't able to defend her title, she finished in solo 2nd with a final round score of 85. Rounding out the top 3 was Bill Burr of Mililani, HI, and William Brown of Waianae, HI, both of whom shot a round of 14-over 86 and finished in a tie for 3rd.

Thanks to all of the players, the 2011 Ko Olina Championship was a huge success! The Hawaii Tour would like to thank not only the participants, but the course staff as well for providing a wonderful course that was in great condition for us to play. The Hawaii Tour would also like to thank its local sponsor Hawaii Water.

Next up, the Hawaii Tour travels to Ewa Beach for the Inaugural 2011 Gambler's Classic at the beautiful Ewa Beach Golf Club on July 30. Congratulations to all of the winners of the 2011 Ko Olina Championship and a big mahalo to all those who competed in the event and made this event possible!