HONOLULU – University of Hawai'i men's golfer #T.J. Kua# will compete in this week's Sony Open in Hawai'i at Wai'alae Country Club after winning the Amateur Governor's Cup Qualifying in December at the same course.

 

The Sony Open begins on Thursday and runs through Sunday. Defending champion Zach Johnson will compete along with former champs, K.J Choi, Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, and Paul Azinger among the 144-player field. Kua will be competing as an amateur and will not be eligible for the $5.5 million purse, $990,000 of which goes to the winner.

 

Kua, a sophomore from Lihu'e, Kaua'i, fired a 5-under par 67 to become the first current UH golfer to qualify for the event since Ryan Koshi earned a spot from the amateur qualifying tournament for the 1998 Hawaiian Open. Koshi would miss the Hawaiian Open cut after shooting 79-74 for a 153 total and tie for 141^st.

 

Kua is one of at least five golfers from Hawai'i in the 2010 Sony Open field along with Dean Wilson, Tadd Fujikawa, Parker McLachlin and former UH golfer Kevin Hayashi. Another qualifying tournament will be held Monday at the Turtle Bay Resort.

 

In 2005, UH golfer Pierre-Henri Soero qualified for the U.S. Open, where he shot 83-77 and tied for 151^st at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina.