Anuenue Classic
Maui’s Cabajar ties for 3rd place
LAHAINA — Jasmine Cabajar and Madison Wood both surprised themselves a bit at the Anuenue Spring Break Classic women’s college golf tournament Wednesday.
Cabajar, a fifth-year senior for Portland State University and a Maui High School graduate, surged to a tie for third place after a 1-under-par 71 left her at 5-over 221 for the event. She had the best score of the final round in windy conditions on the Royal Kaanapali Golf Course.
“No way, they said I was in fifth, that’s crazy,” Cabajar said when told she had moved into third place — she had been tied for 11th after a 78 Monday and tied for sixth after a 72 Tuesday. “That’s awesome.”
Wood, a UC Davis senior, finished a wire-to-wire run to the first win of her college career. She shot 73 Wednesday to finish at 2-under 214, one stroke in front of Aggies teammate Jackie Lucena (74).
Wood didn’t find out she had won until she got a text from her mom, who was watching the live statistics online from home in California.
“I mean, it definitely feels good to win,” Wood said. “I think it’s probably every college player’s dream to win an event before they graduate, so that’s pretty awesome. I think I’m just glad that I was able to put up three good numbers. I think that only adds to how special it felt — I stayed consistent.”
UC Davis won the team title at 14-over 878 after a closing 10-over 298. Hawaii was second, 20 strokes back after a 302 on Wednesday.
For Wood, the title was “kind of bittersweet” to claim over her teammate — Wood and Lucena were tied on top of the player leaderboard going into the final round.
“It’s definitely hard because I know her as a player and I know how good she is and how competitive she is,” Wood said. “I know her strengths, her weaknesses and everything, so kind of knowing that going into it I think added a little toughness just because it’s like I had that in my head already. But at the same time I’d rather be competing against my own teammate for the win than anyone else. … It was definitely kind of weird.”
Cabajar matched her careerbest finish — she was third in the Big Sky Conference tournament in 2019, just one shot out of a playoff.
Now, the Vikings leave her home island with a busy slate between now and the final Big Sky championship of her career when they play down the road from their campus at Arrowhead Golf Club in Molalla, Ore., April 19-21.
This event was the first in 13 months for the Vikings due to COVID-19 protocols. It was good to be on home turf, on the same course where Cabajar won the 2015 Maui Interscholastic League individual title.
“Coming into this tournament I was hoping to win it,” Cabajar said. “I wasn’t too sure how I was going to adapt to it because it’s been a while since we played a tournament, it’s been a year. Then, I’m familiar with how to play this course. I played MILs here, we played states here, but overall for me it was quite interesting.
“The practice round (Sunday) was so windy and I adjusted real quick with that. I did pretty well in the wind during the practice round and I was expecting it to be the same during the three rounds, but then the first day was quite calm and I had to adjust everything. These past two days I felt very comfortable with my game.”
She leaves the Valley Isle with a smile on her face.
“I am very confident in my game and today I put up a pretty good score, so I’m truly happy with my performance this week,” Cabajar said.
Both of the top two teams will be at the Big West Conference tournament in less than four weeks in Yorba Linda, Calif.
“It was great coming in here, the work that they all put in was at a really high level and then to come and compete and to have two players going back and forth pretty much all day was fun to watch without them knowing,” UC Davis coach Anna Temple said. “They’re excited for each other and the whole team is cheering and enthusiastic over everybody’s work, so that’s pretty cool to see it come to fruition.”
Hawaii coach Stephen Bidne was happy to get the final home event of the year in under the COVID-19 conditions. His team will play at the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic in Maricopa, Ariz., April 5-6 in their final tuneup for the Big West tournament.
“It was a good week, we had perfect weather out there,” Bidne said. “It was good scoring conditions, so it was fun to see some of our younger players step up.”
Four Hawaii players — Zoey Akagi-Bustin, Hana Mirnik, Monica Johnson and Ali Schmunk — finished in the top 10 and their fifth player, Sahara Washington, was 12th.
“It’s good that everybody is clicking at the right time,” Bidne said. “As a coach you like to see them play well towards the end of the season and I think we’re doing so.
“I think it’s a great confidence builder and we hit a lot of great shots. And it wasn’t easy out there with the wind and those pin locations, so they battled tough out there and I’m pleased to return back to Oahu with a trophy.”
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