Hall of Fame golf coach shows he still can play the game

Joe Sawaia will be inducted this fall into the Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame based primarily on his phenomenal success as a high school golf coach. But he reminded the world last week that he’s a good player in his own right.

Sawaia reached the quarterfinals at the U.S. Senior Amateur in San Antonio, putting together a strong run at the most significant tournament in the country for senior golfers.

It’s quite an accomplishment for a player who didn’t take up the game until his 20s. Sawaia was a well-rounded athlete who played a variety of team sports, including baseball at UNLV. After dabbling in professional baseball, he became a teacher and coach for three decades, eventually leading him to Coronado High School, where he won 13 state golf titles — seven girls, six boys — and helped more than 30 athletes land Division I golf scholarships.

Sawaia downplayed his role.

“We had a ton of success at Coronado. It was just an embarrassment of riches of players and families and support from the school,” he said. “I was in charge, if you want to say that, but players make coaches look great. We had great players on both sides, the girls and the boys. This award, when you look at it from a coaching standpoint, is an award for Coronado golf as well and all the kids that made it possible.”

But he will take credit for bringing a team mentality to an individual sport.

“I brought more of a team aspect to golf, and the kids really rallied around it. They bought in,” he said. “I always told them we’re playing for the name on the bag, for the name on the shirt. We’re playing for each other. The rest of the year, when you’re playing in a junior golf tournament, you’re playing for yourself, but when you’re in a team event, you’re playing for each other.”

As for his playing career, Sawaia has had plenty of success. He is a two-time Nevada State Mid-Amateur champion and was the Southern Nevada Golf Association player of the year in 2010. He is also the father to two accomplished players, Ben and Brett, who have been part of the UNLV golf team for the past several years.

Sawaia stepped away from playing for about eight years as he helped guide his sons through junior golf and college golf.

But now he’s back on the course, and the run at the U.S. Senior Am is an indication his game is in great shape.

“It was a great week in San Antonio,” Sawaia said. “I was definitely pleased with my performance and learned a lot from competing against top senior am players. Hopefully I can continue to improve and contend in future events.”

Sawaia might not have experienced that run if not for one hole during the second round of stroke play. Hovering around the cut line for the top 64 players to make the match-play field, Sawaia made a hole-in-one on the 13th hole at Oak Hills Country Club.

“It was 135 yards into a light breeze, tried to hit a 140 shot with a three-quarter 9 iron, and it came off perfect,” he said. “It came at a crucial time, as I was 2 over for the round and needed a good finish to solidify my spot in match play.”

Chip shots

— The UNLV men’s golf team is 28th in the nation in Golf Channel’s preseason rankings and 29th in the Golfweek coaches poll. The team returns much of last year’s squad that went to the NCAA championships and has added three solid players in Mason Snyder, Ryan Abuan and Aaron van Hauwe. The Rebels’ first tournament begins Sunday in Sammamish, Washington.

— Add another winner to the long list of Las Vegas professional golfers. Miranda Wang, who moved to Las Vegas after her college career at Duke, won the FM Championship on Sunday for her first LPGA title.

Contact Greg Robertson at grobertson@reviewjournal.com.