MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- On an overcast day with a flooded golf course, dedicated golfers came out to participate in the annual Japanese American Tournament at the Torii Pines Golf Course here Oct. 9.
First place for the lowest net score in the Japanese American Golf Tournament went to Scott Vousboukis, Carlos Campos, Susumu Kawamoto, and Atsumu Sagara with a combined score of 44.
Sixty Japanese and American service members, civilians, males and females participated in the event, making up 15 teams total. Almost every team consisted of both Japanese and American participants.
Teams of four golfed all 18 holes together, taking the best score of the four players for each hole and contributing it to their final score.
Paul Hahn, the golf course manager, said this way if one person on the team has a couple of bad holes, his or her team still has a chance of doing well in the tournament.
Each team also had its handicap factored in to its score to make the playing field more even.
Although scores were recorded and winners were recognized, the purpose of the tournament was to build long-lasting relationships and friendships between the Americans and Japanese.
As participants finished up the 18th hole, they rounded up to tally up their scores.
For some participants, the day of golf wasn’t their best, but all agreed the jokes, laughter and conversations shared between the Japanese and American participants were well worth spending a day of golf in the rain.
“We had a really great time golfing with the Americans,” said Keijiro Tamura, a participant in the tournament.
Once the scores were tallied, the winners were announced over a steak lunch at the Eagles Nest.
Also with 44 points, Wayne Gilmore, Mami Gilmore, Keijiro Tamura and Akira Takagi were awarded second place, missing out on first due to a higher score on the first hole.
Only one point behind second place, Tagasi Nakai, Kenji Kawamura, David Stoddard and David Nuttall took third place with a score of 45.
Jerry Woods, Bryan Rupple, Harumi Okada and Takesi Okamura managed the lowest gross score, the score without their handicap factored in, with a score of 60.
Sanyo Printing Company, the event’s sponsor, provided more than 40 prizes for tournament competitors.
The Ham Hunt Tournament is the next upcoming competition and is scheduled for Dec. 4.