Wild Finish in Hawaiian Open
Isao Aoki beats Jack Renner in a wild finish at Waialae Country Club
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The PGA TOUR is at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu this week for the Sony Hawaiian Open. Scroll down to the Check It Out section for a link to the Monday Q story on the difficulties that rookies are experencing getting into this year’s event. Welcome to the era of Signature Events.
The Hawaiian Open began in its modern-day inception in 1965 (the PGA TOUR recognizes events played in 1928, 1929, 1947 and 1948). This Seth Raynor design was renovated by Tom Doak over the last decade. This week, on our journey through the past, we go back to the 1983 Hawaiian Open and the fantastic finish by Isao Aoki. Scroll down to read. We’ve previously featured the 1965 Hawaiian Open (the first in the modern-era), the 1971 event and the 1966 event that was won by native son Ted Makalena
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Isao Aoki Stuns With Final Shot at Hawaiian Open
It is Wednesday, February 9th, the day before the fifth event on the 1983 PGA TOUR, the $325,000 Hawaiian Open that is scheduled to tee off at the 6,881-yard Waialae Country Club. In the field was Dr. Gil Morgan who got off to a hot start winning the first two events of the year, the Joe Garagiola-Tucson Open, and the Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open, and had already accumulated $117,298 in prize money.
The defending champion of the Hawaiian Open, Wayne Levy, was making his 1983 debut and looked forward to defending his title.
“Sure, I can win again,” Levy said upon arrival. “This is my first tournament of this year, but I’m ready. I’ve always played well here.”
Other than the defending champion and the current leading money winner, there were few other big names entered. Only four of the leading 20 money winners were entered. But of those entered, it was the contingent from Japan who elicited excitement, especially amongst the tourists from the golf-mad country who made the trip to Honolulu to watch their heroes play.
The most famous of the six players was Isao Aoki, who had been playing the PGA TOUR for the last two years, winning $30,657 in 1982 playing in 15 tournaments. The other players were Kikuo Arai, Teruo Sugihara, Masahiro Kuramoto, Toshiaki Sekmiuzo, and Namio Takasu. Sekmiuzo and Takasu gained entry through the Monday local qualifying event.
“Going into the back nine, I decided to relax. I decided to swing more like I usually do.”
On Thursday, it was the players who teed off early that were able to take advantage of the weather to post low scores. The wind kicked up in the afternoon and made the playing conditions much tougher. Aoki was able to make a move on the back nine and ended the day with a 66 that put him in a tie for the lead with Dan Pohl and Vance Heafner, son of Clayton Heafner, a stalwart on tour during the 1940s and 50s.
Aoki was one over after eight holes but managed to birdie the ninth hole and then gave himself a pep talk on the way to the 10th tee.
“Going into the back nine, I decided to relax,” Aoki told reporters through an interpreter. “I decided to swing more like I usually do.”
It worked as he strung together four consecutive birdies before adding two more on the 16th and 17th.
Pohl’s finish may have been the most exciting, though. He was three-under after 16 and then aced the 17th with a five-iron, and then added a birdie at the final hole to tie Aoki.
Jack Renner shot a first-round 69 placing him three behind the leaders.
“There was practically no wind at all over the last nine holes, and that’s a big break.”
Friday’s weather was typically sunny, but the afternoon winds that are also typical were missing, setting up excellent scoring conditions. Vance Heafner took advantage of the conditions shooting a 65 with birdies on four of the last five holes.
“There was practically no wind at all over the last nine holes, and that’s a big break,” Heafner said after posting 131 for two rounds.
Tied for second, at 134, were Larry Rinker and Andy Bean. Rinker did not score a bogey and his card did not contain even one five. Both Aoki and Pohl shot 70 and were at 136. Ben Crenshaw shot a 68 and also sat at 136. Renner shot a 68 for a 137 total.
“My best round of the year. I’m hitting the ball better and I’m thinking better.”
It seemed as if all the tourists from Japan who made their way to Honolulu chose to follow Aoki during Saturday’s third round under warm tropical skies. They were not disappointed. Aoki eagled two holes, the par-5 9th, and the par-5 13th, to go with birdies on the first, second, eighth, and 11th, offset by a bogey on the 6th, to shoot a 65.
“My best round of the year,” Aoki said after his round. “I’m hitting the ball better and I’m thinking better.”
Ed Fiori was equally as hot shooting a 66 and was tied with Aoki, and Heafner who shot a 70, for the lead. Renner shot a 66 for a total of 203 and was very much in the hunt. Crenshaw shot a 69 for a 205 total and Peter Jacobson shot a 67 to put himself in contention at 202, four shots off the pace.
“I will try to win. But if I start to think about it, think about how all the golf fans in Japan expect me to win, it will put pressure on me.”
“There are a bunch of guys right there,” Fiori said. “With that many players that close, I predict it will be a fun tournament to watch tomorrow. I’m looking forward to it.”
For Aoki, he had to keep the ramifications of becoming Japan’s first player to win a PGA TOUR event at bay.
“I will try to win,” he said through his interpreter. “But if I start to think about it, think about how all the golf fans in Japan expect me to win, it will put pressure on me. I will try not to think about it. I don’t want to put that kind of pressure on myself.”
The final round would be nationally broadcast by NBC while Japanese fans could tune into NTV to follow the action. And the action would be wild as there were 10 men within four strokes of the lead going into the final round.
In Sunday’s final round, played in muggy conditions, Ben Crenshaw shot a final round 66 to finish at 271, while Hale Irwin staged a charge that fizzled in the last stretch of holes shooting a 65 that put him at 272. Vance Heafner skied to a 75 and finished at 276 winning $6,119.
“I was checking my card when the crowd roared.”
Renner, playing in front of the group that included Aoki, made his charge at the leaders picking up six strokes on par and finishing with a two-putt birdie on the final hole for a 66. He then made his way to the scorer’s tent to sign his card. While signing his card, all hell broke loose on the 18th hole where Aoki was playing knowing he needed a birdie to tie Renner.
“I was checking my card when the crowd roared,” Renner later said.
Aoki’s drive at the par-5 final hole ended up in the rough, right of the fairway. He then hooked his second shot into the crowd. But he caught a break as the ball ricocheted off a spectator keeping it from running into trouble. Aoki surveyed his situation for his third shot.
“My only thought,” he later said through his interpreter, “was to get it close and make a birdie and go to a playoff.”
Aoki selected a wedge and produced a shot that covered the flag before taking one hop and disappearing into the cup for his third eagle in 28 holes. There was a stunned silence after the miracle shot before Aoki raised his arms above his head in triumph while tears welled in his eyes. The mob of Japanese tourists erupted in a screaming celebration.
“I know the Japanese people expected me to win in the United States,” said Aoki. “It was their dream, too, that Aoki win in America. I am very happy I could make that dream come true.”
It may have been a dream to Aoki and his fans, but it was a nightmare for Renner.
“Apparently, it wasn’t meant to be,” Renner said when things had calmed down. “But I’m looking at it positively. I played well. I had a good tournament. I got beat by a shot.”
Despite not having the strongest field, the 1983 Hawaiian Open provided plenty of fireworks as well as a historic winner, the first from Japan on the PGA TOUR. It was Aoki’s only win on the PGA TOUR.
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BONUS STORY
The 1984 Hawaiian Open was almost déjà vu all over again for Jack Renner. After losing the 1983 Hawaiian Open to Isao Aoki who holed a wedge shot for eagle at the last hole, Renner returned in 1984. He entered the final round three strokes behind the leader Wayne Levi. He made the turn at one-under and then birdied four holes on the back nine.
Levi arrived at the final hole needing a birdie for a one stroke victory over Renner. His second shot ended up in the rough and his pitch shot was eerily familiar to Renner. Levi’s ball came within an inch of rolling in for an eagle before finishing four feet from the hole for the birdie that would give him the title. Levi missed and he and Renner went back to the 15th hole to start a sudden-death playoff. Both players parred the 15th hole and then Levi missed a two-foot par putt on the 16th while Renner drained his 18-inch putt for the victory.
Renner talked about the prior year, and Aoki’s holed out wedge shot, with the press after the playoff saying, “By the time I got on the plane going back to the mainland, it was behind me. But nobody would let me forget it. I kept seeing tapes of the shot on TV. Every time I looked up, they were rerunning it.”
Renner watched Levi’s approach to the final green.
“I thought, ‘if that ball goes in, I’m never coming here again,’” He told reporters.
He would not only be coming back to the islands, he would be doing so as a defending champion.
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WHAT HOLE IS IT?
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Congratulations to Chris Kirk on winning The Sentry. He was just a machine on the weekend. Read the full wrap-up from the PGA TOUR HERE.
Clips You Might Have Missed
Good genes.
Great week for Theegala.
Collin Morakawa doing good work on Maui.
Gary Woodland returns to the tour after surgery on a brain lesion. This is worth you time to watch.
This is cute. You remember your first?
Tour Backspin Quiz | Guess The Clubhouse
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Swing Like a Pro
Isao Aoki Swing.
Blind Shot
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Tour rookies found it difficult to get into the Sony, a non-elevated event. Read more about the challenges on the new tour for rookies at Monday Q.
Ever show up at the course as a single, worried about who you might get paired with? Hey, sometimes it works out really great. Read more at Golf Digest.
The era of Tiger Woods and Nike is over after more than 27 years. Read more at Golf Digest.
The Tour Backspin Jukebox
On the jukebox in 1981—The Rolling Stones Waiting on a Friend. Drop your dime in the slot and click HERE to listen.
Uncorked, The Life and Times of Champagne Tony Lema tells the story of one of the tour’s biggest stars in the mid-1960s. A fascinating glimpse into the traveling caravan that was the PGA TOUR during an era where the fields were full of “Mad Men” era personalities. From a hardscrabble youth spent on the “wrong side of the tracks” in the Oakland suburb of San Leandro, to the temptations of Elko, Nevada, to the bright lights of the PGA TOUR, Uncorked tells a story of determination, redemption and, above all else, a love story that documents how Betty, Tony’s new wife, provided the direction and motivation for him to become a top star. Order on Amazon.
WHAT IS HIP?
These are the hats for 1983
Mailbag
Larry,
Hi and HNY
Loved the podcast with Chuck Courtney. Well done!
Particularly liked the Ernest Jones discussion. There are very few Jones disciples left. One was Woody Wright at Lake Merced Golf Club in Daly City. He is now in a skilled nursing facility but was a major proponent as was the incredibly long-tenured (Milwaukee Country Club) Manuel de La Torre. Cool to hear about Runyon as well!
Thanks for all that you do
Al O.
PS I worked at the range that Lucius Bateman finished his career at and took a few lessons from him near the end of his life, cut short by diabetes. Nearly blind he could tell a lot by sound. I remember like it was yesterday him telling me on more than one occasion that I had “happy feet!”
Tour Backspin Quiz Answer:
That is the clubhouse at King Kamehameha Golf Club in Waikapu, Maui, Hawaii. (Photo: King Kamehameha Golf Club)
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Final Thoughts
If you haven’t watched the two videos in our feature story, go back and give them a view. Especially the one on X with Aoki and Renner looking back at that shot Aoki hit.
I’m sure we’ve all seen that ZZ Top video a thousand times, but it’s still fun to watch.
You gotta feel bad for Jack Renner but you would feel worse if he hadn’t come back and won in 1984.
What will we be seeing Tiger wear at The Genesis Invitational?