Lahaina, HI – After 54 holes and a 7-hole playoff, Trent Phillips of Georgia birdied the par 3 17th to win the playoff against Quade Cummins of Oklahoma. Trent Phillips shot 64 today and Quade Cummins shot 62 to earn them a spot in the playoffs at 193 (-20).
To say this weekend was filled with some unbelievable golf would be an understatement. These guys played some truly incredible golf and to the average golfer, we were humbled to have witnessed it. Shot after shot, putt after putt, these two in particular were on fire and left the gallery speechless as we watched them play in the sudden-death playoff.
Heading into the final round today, Trent Phillips was two strokes ahead of Quaid Cummins. “I hung in here today - I saw that Quaid had gotten off to a hot start and when you see something like that, it kind of shocks you a little bit, and it made me think, I got to get out there and get it.” Phillips added, “I kept my head out of it, and pushed down and made some birdies of my own somehow on the final stretch.” Phillips would birdie three of his last six holes to tie Cummins at (-20).
“With both of us at (-20), that was pretty low for the weekend, lower than I thought it would be – I’m very pleased with how I played overall,” Phillips commented. In regards to the 7-hole playoff, he added, “I’ve actually had a 7-hole playoff before to get in to the U.S. Amateur but I lost that one – I won this, I’m glad it worked out and I got the win.” This is Phillips first tournament win for collegiate golf and he said, “I’ve been knocking on the door for a while now, over the past year - I had a lot of good chances. This week I dug a little deeper and I found a way to get it done.”
Oklahoma Senior, Quaid Cummins birdied eight of nine holes on the front nine and commented, “I got off to a hot start today and birdied the first seven holes in a row and then took what I could get coming in. After five (birdies) in a row, I really wanted to get to -20, and after -20, I was hoping to get a few more but I just never had the chance in those final holes.” Quade’s coach Ryan Hybl commented to him after the playoff holes, “Quade, great job out there today, you are one of the best players in the country and you should be proud.” This is the second time Cummins has come in second place at the Ka’anapali event (2018 also).
Oklahoma took home the team trophy at 805 (-47) this weekend for the second time (also 2015 Champions), five strokes ahead of University of Washington’s 810 (-42). The two teams played leap frog all day battling back and forth with first place, but Oklahoma stretched it out in the end, with the help not only of Cummins, but also teammates Thomas Johnson who birdied five holes on his back nine to shoot 66 (-5), Logan McAllister shot 67 (-4) and Patrick Welch shot 68 (-3). Head Men’s Golf Coach Ryan Hybl said, “First of all, we love to come to Ka’anapali, this is a great event and our guys did a great job this week.” Hybl continued, “Obviously, Quade was incredible today, but in addition to him, we had some guys really pull through for us today – Thomas and Welch both had great finishes and everyone contributed this weekend, which makes it all the more fun for everyone.” Cummins added, “As a team, we are probably the best in the country right now – we won this weekend with a pretty tough field, some great competition out there. I expected us to win it – if we hadn’t, it would have been a disappointment.”
Three of Washington’s players posted sub-par rounds today, with Noah Woolsey with a team low 64 (-7) to climb 40 spots in the end to finish T18. Petr Hruby climbed six spots to T4 to finish at 201 (-12), Paul Margolis at (-10) and Henry Lee at (-8). Paul Margolis eagled the 9th hole early on the round to put them ahead of Oklahoma but as a team, Washington gave back five strokes in the final few holes, along Ka’anapali’s tough finishing stretch.
Other notables were Ryan Hall of South Carolina who shot 66 (-5) today to finish 200 (-13) for the weekend in third place. Zach Gordon of Clemson shot 69 (-2) finished T4 with Petr Hruby (Washington). Luke Kluver of Kansas finished at (-11) with UCLA’s Bryan Wiyang Teoh. Paul Margolis of Washington T8 with Liberty’s Alexandre Fuchs at (-10).
Liberty’s Ervin Chang got an albatross 2 on the par 5, 9th hole today. “I had about 168 yards to the pin and hit my 6-iron – I didn’t even know it went in until my coach told me when I got up to the green,” smiled Chang. This is his second career albatross.
Host University Men’s Golf Coach, Ronn Miyashiro commented about the weekend, “We love to host this event – the quality of teams that play in this event is pretty impressive.” Miyashiro added, “It’s exciting to bring out teams to Hawaii, to experience not only the great courses we have here, but also the activities and surroundings.” This is the sixth year Ka’anapali Golf Courses has hosted this event for the University of Hawaii.
For a full list of final scores see the golfstat website.
The sixth annual 54-hole, individual and team stroke-play tournament features the men’s teams from Boise, California - Los Angeles, California – Santa Barbara, Clemson, Connecticut, George Washington, Georgia, Gonzaga, Hawaii-Manoa (host), Kansas, Liberty, Northern Texas, Oklahoma, Sacramento State, South Carolina, Southern Illinois, U.S. Air Force Academy, U. of Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Photos and scores posted on Ka’anapali’s Facebook page, Instagram @kaanapaligolf and tagging #KaanapaliClassic
About Ka’anapali Golf Courses
Built on 300 acres of land once home to Hawaiian royalty, Ka'anapali Golf Courses present golfers with pristine conditions and stunning views of the Pacific Ocean and West Maui Mountains.
Opened in 1962 and designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr., the par-71, 6,700-yard Royal Ka’anapali Course features wide fairways and undulating greens which make it both distinctive and demanding. The tournament-tested layout hosted the Champions Tour Ka’anapali Classic for 14 years, Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf, the Canada Cup and LPGA Kemper Open, welcoming Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Greg Norman, Fred Couples, Jan Stephenson, Betsy King and other legends.
Complementing the Royal Ka’anapali Course is the modernized Ka’anapali Kai Course, which hosted Golf Channel’s “Big Break Ka’anapali.” Extensively renovated in 2005, the 6,400-yard, par-70 layout boasts an array of strategically placed bunkers, contoured fairways and resurfaced greens.
