For immediate release: Tuesday, December 21, 2010

For: Friends of Hawai‘i Charities / Sony Open in Hawai‘i

Contact: Bill Bachran, Sony Open in Hawaii, [email protected] or 523-7888 Lori Yip, 141 Premiere Sports & Entertainment, [email protected] or 808.778.1493 (cell) Candice Kraughto, [email protected] or 808.551.8533 (cell)

Gifted Junior Golfers Get Early Christmas Present Five of Hawaii’s best junior golfers selected to participate in the King Auto Group Pro- Junior Skills Challenge at the 2011 Sony Open in Hawaii

Honolulu, Hawai‘i – Christmas came a week early for five of Hawaii’s best junior golfers this year. Last Friday, December 17, Hawaii State Junior Golf Association and Friends of Hawaii Charities notified junior golfers Alex Chiarella, Allisen Corpuz, Cyd Okino, Ryan Kuroiwa and Scotty Yamashita that they were selected to partner with five outstanding PGA TOUR professionals to play in the 5th Annual King Auto Group Pro-Junior Skills Chal- lenge at the 2011 Sony Open in Hawaii scheduled for 2:45 p.m. on Tuesday, January 11 at Waialae Country Club’s 18th green. The junior golfers will be paired with PGA TOUR profes- sionals Jerry Kelly, Steve Stricker, Fred Funk, Zach Johnson, and Ricky Barnes for the sea- son-opening showdown that benefits the Hawaii State Junior Golf Association (HSJGA).

Each year over a thousand students and spectators gather at this free, fun-filled community event to watch the exciting and entertaining competition and the spectacular entrance made by a select team of skydivers from Skydive Hawaii that “drop” into the event on the 18th green after jumping from a plane 6,500 feet above Diamond Head. Kamehameha Schools Band and Choir, Hula Preservation Society and cultural speaker Manu Boyd are scheduled to perform and appear at the event too. The junior golfers are selected based on points earned throughout the year from Hawaii State Junior Golf Association (HSJGA) events that are calculated and used to determine Player of the Year and Special Event Exemption Selection. Mary Bea Porter King, president for the Hawaii State Junior Golf Association said, “Junior golfers on the top of the points list are given first priority to participate in the King Auto Group Pro-Junior Skills Challenge as their ‘reward’ for playing so well throughout the year.”

Sixteen-year-old Seabury Hall junior Alexander Chiarella shot an impressive 64 at the HSJGA Optimist Qualifer at Turtle Bay in 2010. He also won the 15-18-year-old HSJGA King Auto Group State Championship, the 15-18-year-old HSJGA Kaanapali Match Play Championship, the 15-18-year-old HSJGA Tournament of Championship and was named the 15-18-year-old HSJGA Player of the Year. His favorite school subject is math, but Chiarella also enjoys sports and going to the beach.

Twelve-year old Allisen Corpuz attends 7th grade at Punahou School. In her young life, she has already made two hole in one shots – the first at Hole 7 at Lomas Santa Fe in 2008 and the other at Makaha West’s Hole 16 in 2010. She won an AJGA Open event at Rock Island, Illinois in 2010 and shot a par 71 at the AJGA Junior at Quad Cities, Rock Island Arsenal Golf Course in June 2010. Her favorite school subject is science.

Seventeen-year-old Cyd Okino attends Punahou School. She has already made four hole in one shots all before graduating from high school next spring and has received a full college scholarship at the University of Washington. She shot a bogey free 67 in the afternoon round of the 36-hole in the U.S. Women’s Open Sectional Qualifer at Turtle Bay’s Palmer Course (at 6,322 yards) in June 2008 for the Medalist win at 142 (2-under overall). Besides golf, Okino loves to sing and her favorite school subject is art. Okino also enjoys volunteering during her spare time with the Junior Optimist Club and serving food at the Next Step homeless shelter.

Seventeen-year-old Aiea High School senior Ryan Kuroiwa shot a 71-70 at the King Auto State Championship at Hokulia in July 2010. He has made an impressive three hole in one shots in his young golfing career. His favorite school subject is math. After graduation next year, Kuroiwa plans to attend the University of Hawaii on a golf scholarship. Kuroiwa also enjoys learning Japanese and collecting Oakley sunglasses. Sixteen-year-old Scotty Yamashita attends Kamehameha Schools Kapalama campus as a junior and finished at an impressive 3rd place at the Turtle Bay Amateur this year. He scored 4 under and was ranked second place at the Optimist qualifier at Turtle Bay Resort in June 2010; finished fifth place, 1 over at the Barbers Point Invitational, Barbers Point Golf Course in July 2010 and ended in third place, 1 under in the Turtle Bay Amateur, Turtle Bay Resort in October 2010. His favorite school subject is Spanish, but he also loves a game of pick-up basketball.

“The Pro-Junior Challenge generates enthusiasm among Hawaii junior golfers. It serves as an incentive for them to play in our state tournaments where they gain qualifying points that enable them to play with the pros at Waialae,” said Charlie King of King Auto Group, title sponsor of the event. “It’s the experience of a lifetime for them!”

Each junior – pro team will compete in a four skills challenge: a 128-yard Miracle Shot sponsored by Monarch Insurance; Bunker Shot sponsored by Kraft Foods in Hawaii; a Chip Shot; and the final Challenge Putt sponsored by King Auto Group

The community is invited to this free Tuesday event during Sony Open in Hawaii (January 10-16, 2011). Free parking and shuttle are available at Hunakai Park. No backpacks or cell phones are permitted. For more information, please call 808.523.7888, visit www.friendsofhawaii.org or e-mail [email protected].

Hawaii State Junior Golf Association founded in 1998 provides an environment where any junior golfer, male or female (ages 7-18), can enjoy golf and progress at his or her own rate from beginner to proficiency, while promoting and preserving the traditions and integrity of the game. For more information about HSJGA, please visit www.hsjga.org.

Friends of Hawai‘i Charities, charity sponsor of the Sony Open in Hawai‘i, is a federal 501 (c) (3) public charity incorporated in 1998 to benefit not-for-profit organizations serving Hawai‘i’s children, youth, women and needy. Over the past eleven years, Friends of Hawai‘i Charities, Inc., together with Sony Open charity partner, The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Inc., has raised and distributed more than $10,000,000 to over 350 not-for-profit organizations. For more information, visit www.friendsofhawaii.org.

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