The refurbished, improved course at the Pearl at Kalauao could have spooked veteran golfers away. Spacious and emerald green, the hills and added bunkers make the course daunting and, for many, haunting. Kate Nakaoka relished the challenge. Through the offseason, Nakaoka and her friends made it a point to play a course that may be the most hilly in the state. With a healthy dose of tradewinds, most of the field struggled on Monday and Tuesday. The Mililani senior carded a 1-under 71 in round one and closed with a 1-over 73 in round two to capture the Oahu Interscholastic Association girls golf championship. The Oregon State commit capped a superb OIA season. Her top three-score average was 66.33. Familiarity with the redone course was crucial. “I’ve played here too many times to count. It changed a lot with the renovation. The greens got (more slopey),” Nakaoka said. “There are some holes that they kept the same, which is nice.” She fended off Ava Cepeda of Kahuku, who bounced back from a 78 with an even-par 72, finishing six strokes behind Nakaoka. Cepeda’s first experience with the renovated course was in the practice round. “The day before the tournament,” said Cepeda, who will play at New Mexico next season. “I wish yesterday (Monday) didn’t happen, but it is what it is. I did well today.” Nakaoka’s prominence in local and national tournaments has put her competitive spirit and fear of losing at the forefront. Sometimes, it seeps into the subconscious. “I do have dreams about golf, but it’s my bad shots. It’s random,” she said. “But I haven’t had those dreams for a while. It’s been good recently.” The first three holes, she noted, had strong tradewinds. “I wasn’t playing enough through the wind, so my ball would go with the wind a lot and I would end up in some really bad spots. I adjusted, aiming farther out, playing the wind, or hitting cut shots into the wind,” Nakaoka said. Mariko Yonemura of Mililani placed third, finishing 3 over, seven strokes behind Nakaoka. That included a second-round 74. From there, it was a dropoff, with Mililani’s Kady Matsumoto in fourth place, 16 strokes back; Kalani’s Sora Kishida (17 strokes back) and Roosevelt’s Nanami Yano (19 strokes behind). Mililani captured the girls team title for a third year in a row. It is the first OIA crown under coach Traci Kashiwabara, who was hired after Mark DeCastro stepped down. “I’m just happy for the team. It’s a dream team. I’m happy for Kate. I know she wanted to win OIAs. We never really talked about winning. During the regular season, we treated every tournament leading up to OIAs like it was the tournament,” Kashiwabara said. “Even now, we’re going to look at states as a regular tournament.” Mililani’s formidable girls team compiled a score of 455 — 228 on Monday and 227 on Tuesday. Behind Nakaoka and Yonemura was Matsumoto, who finished at 160. Nakaoka’s sophomore sister, Mia, carded a 166 (eighth), as did Kieran Florino (ninth). Kalani’s Kim rallies to win boys title The boys chase was down to the wire. Freshman Isaac Kim of Kalani was six strokes back after carding an 8-over-par 80 on day one, but rallied with a 73 on Tuesday to edge first-round leader Gunnar Lee of Moanalua and Keola Silva Jr. of Kahuku by a single stroke. Casey Johansen of Leilehua was two strokes back in a dramatic finish for the top four. Lee, a junior, sparked a Moanalua boys program that has won four OIA titles in a row and 16 of the past 17 crowns. “I’m not doing anything. The kids are doing everything on their own. We do practice three, four times a week. They work hard and have a lot of fun doing it,” said Na Menehune coach Andrew Hopoi, now in his third year. “A lot of them do other stuff. Some of them are in band, orchestra. Activities other than golf. They manage their time wisely for school and golf.” Kim’s two-day, 9-over 153 was a testament to grit on the unforgiving course. It was also a reminder that sometimes, mother knows best. “I played this course around three times,” Kim said of his preparation for the tournament. The past few weeks felt heavy, which made the OIA title victory sweeter. “I was surprised. I didn’t expect to win. I’ve been playing bad recently. I just couldn’t putt that much. I came here two days ago and I practiced around five hours by myself, and my mom (Young Joo Kim) was there. That helped a lot. My putting got better.” The opening-round struggle was across the board, as many golfers adjusted to particularly stiff headwinds. “I kept on making doubles. Those were close. I kind of got frustrated, but my coaches taught me how to breathe. Coach Minsu (Lee) and coach Tyler (Ota) helped me.” Minsu Lee previously taught at Pearl before relocating to the mainland. Ota is Kim’s personal coach. Kim didn’t check the scoreboard (online) until the 14th tee. By then, Falcons coach Ren Frias had noticed that Kim had tied Gunnar Lee. “When I saw the score pop up on 13. I was watching our other players, too, but when he got even I knew he had a shot,” Frias said. “He’s a talented freshman. He’s a great golfer. He has all of the shots. We used the regular season to get ready for the championships.” Kim was as astounded by anyone by his comeback. “I didn’t know at first. I just tried to play my best game. Around 14 or 15,” Kim said. “I had a feeling.” He was in the same group with Silva, while Lee was in a different group. Nothing changed for Kim, who posted the best second-round score. The most difficult holes, he noted, were the first and 10th. Dealing with occasionally strong tradewinds was another challenge. “I just clubbed extra. I clubbed up. Instead of a 6-iron, I’ll hit a 5-iron,” Kim said. “I feel great.” Kim also gave props to his father, David Kim. “My dad’s shop is Royal Hawaiian Golf Shop,” Isaac Kim said. The David Ishii/HHSAA Girls Golf State Championships will be held April 29-30 at Mauna Lani Resort. The boys state championships will be May 1-2 at Mauna Lani Resort.