Maui Prep wins 2022 HHSAA Boys Golf Championship in Kāʻanapali

Led by Dillon Jonke’s silver medal performance, the Maui Prep golf team combatted strong winds and fast greens at Kā‘anapali to win their first-ever Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association Boys Golf Championship presented by the David S. Ishii Foundation.

“The Pueos’ 38-shot victory will be remembered as one of the all-time great performances in HHSAA Boys Golf Championship history,” according to Kā‘anapali Golf Courses’ Pate Clarson.

“Our victory could not have happened without the ongoing support of the David S. Ishii Foundation, Lahaina Junior Golf Association, Maui Junior Golf Association, Kā‘anapali, Kapalua and the West Maui community,” said co-head coach Chris Salem, who is also the father of Maui Prep freshman, Christopher Salem (T4).

In the 36-hole tournament, four of Maui Prep’s players finished inside the top-15. Punahou (second), Hawaii Baptist Academy (third), Moanalua (fourth) and Kamehameha – Kapalama (fifth) rounded out the leaders in the Team Championship. Maui Prep’s Division I win comes just three months after their Division II HHSAA Boys Basketball Championship.

In the Individual Championship, Hawai‘i Baptist Academy’s Joshua Hayashida deftly won the two-day event by four strokes at 141 (-1). The University of Hawai‘i – Mānoa commit finished ahead of Jonke, Tyler Tamayori (Saint Louis School), Christopher Salem (Maui Prep) and Dane Watanabe (ʻIolani).

Entering Tuesday, 21 players were within eight shots of Joshua Hayashida, who was a key member of Hawai‘i Baptist Academy’s 2019 state championship team. Hayashida utilized his strong short game to hold off the competition and secure a four-shot victory, despite finding trouble on the final two holes.

One of O‘ahu’s top amateurs, Hayashida won both the 2022 and 2021 Interscholastic League of Honolulu individual title. Last year, he was named the Hawai‘i State Golfer of the Year, Hawai‘i State Amateur runner-up and was chosen for the Governor’s Cup team.

“Royal Kā‘anapali’s final-round conditions were demanding,” said 2022 Individual Champion, Joshua Hayashida. “However, I enjoyed playing against an elite field on this challenging layout. It brought out the best in my game.”

Royal Kā‘anapali’s Robert Trent Jones, Sr. layout showed its teeth for the state’s top juniors with the trade winds picking up as the final pairings played the back nine.

2022 marks the fifth time that Kā‘anapali has hosted the HHSAA Golf Championships (1998, 2009, 2013, 2017). The 2023 tournament location will be announced in the coming months, and will be contested on Kaua‘i or O‘ahu.