Support pours in from members of sports community near and far

PGA Tour golfer Collin Morikawa, who has strong family ties to West Maui because his family used to own the Morikawa Restaurant in Lahaina, announced Thursday that he has pledged to donate $1,000 for each birdie he makes in the FedEx Cup playoffs.

He made six birdies in Thursday’s first round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Morikawa is tied for third in the tournament at 5 under par.

“We’ve decided on two charities, Maui United Way and World Central Kitchen to help out not just people in Maui, but obviously hopefully people in Hawaii because it’s everywhere,” Morikawa said after his round on Thursday. “It’s devastating what we’ve been able to — what we’ve been seeing. The before-and-after photos are just heartbreaking, knowing that my entire dad’s side of the family grew up there. My grandparents were born in Lahaina.

“We had the restaurant out there. … We went there as kids. It’s a special place. It’s amazing how many things you take for granted really in life, and when you see that, it’s just heartbreaking.”

PGA Tour golfer Collin Morikawa is pictured during the Sentry Tournament of Champions on Jan. 6 at the Kapalua Plantation Course. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

The Morikawa Restaurant has been gone for some time, but its connection to the Lahaina community has never been lost on Collin Morikawa.

“It’s been gone — they sold the restaurant before I was even born, so that was something that I never got to experience, but it was along Front Street. It was right there,” he said. “We used to walk by. I think it’s like a jewelry store now that took over, at least took over now. Yeah, it’s just terrible.”

Morikawa still has family on Maui and in the 50th state.

“Plenty of relatives. A lot of them are in Oahu now, so I think there’s only a couple that are in Maui,” he said. “I think they’re all right, but just to hear — woke up this morning, just checking the news, and to see how many people have passed away from that, yeah, it’s — I’m at a loss for words.”

Morikawa said the monetary gesture is the least he could do.

Baldwin student-athletes play soccer with kids staying at the War Memorial shelter. The Maui News / ROBERT COLLIAS

“Yeah, look, I want to make a lot of birdies for them. One of our friends texted me, and they’re like, okay, $100,000. I’m like, shoot, 100 birdies in three tournaments? I don’t know if that’s ever been done, but it would be a great feat to say the least,” Morikawa said. “Look, it’s hard not to think about it, but at the end of the day, I’m here to win. It’s in the back of my mind for sure. It’s extra motivation and just perspective I think while we’re out there.”

Morikawa said he is hopeful more PGA Tour golfers join him in his pledge. He said The Sentry event that will begin the PGA Tour season Jan. 4-7, 2024, at the Kapalua Plantation Course is one of his favorites on the calendar.

“I hope so. I mean, look, it’s one of the best places in the world we travel to year in and year out to go to Kapalua, play golf there,” Morikawa said. “Hopefully — I know I’m going to ask my sponsors, I’m going to ask people that I know just to help out. Anything helps. Really anything. Per birdie I make, whatever you can afford, whatever you want to put in.

“It’s a generous donation. I’m going to be pushing hard to make those birdies, and hopefully everyone else can reach out and help out as much as they can.”

On Maui, more than 100 Baldwin High School athletes were at the War Memorial Gym shelter Thursday helping with everything. Most were busy taking donations out of cars in the drive-thru drop-off line that stretched down Mahalani Street nearly to Maehara Stadium, the baseball facility at the end of the parking lot for football facility War Memorial Stadium.

Former Bellator champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane, through her Na Wahine Toa Foundation, has already raised over $1 million for relief efforts on Maui. BELLATOR MMA photo

Baldwin head football coach Cody Nakamura said he had “about 50 players” at the facility helping out under a baking midday sun.

“Absolutely, absolutely, the island is hurting right now,” Nakamura said. “We do have manpower with our team, so the team as a whole decided that we’re going to give some time today. I’m really proud and excited that the boys decided to show up and they’re getting put to work.

“Working their butts off and it’s the first time in a while that we don’t hear any complaints about work, so they’re loving it, they’re enjoying helping out and it’s good to see.”

Nakamura said his team is not worried about any games at this point — their Saturday preseason game against Edison of Huntington Beach, Calif., was called off on Wednesday, along with the other four games involving Maui Interscholastic League teams this weekend.

“Times like this, it’s important to remember that family is most important, the team and friendships are most important,” Nakamura said. “When somebody needs help you offer the help with all your heart. The season itself, we’re not even concerned, the boys are not practicing. The things that we’re doing together is to help the community right now.”

Former Major League Baseball player Shane Victorino pledged to “do anything that I can” to help his home island. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

Baldwin football player Kason Uedoi said that it gave his team a special feeling helping out as much as possible.

“It feels good because we get to come together as a team and help out the community that has been struggling recently,” Uedoi said. “It just feels good to come all together and help this community come together, too, and just rise through all this commotion that’s going on.”

Uedoi said the experience on Thursday will help his team bond. The next game on their slate is their MIL opener on Aug. 26 at Kamehameha Maui.

“Oh yeah, definitely, we get to see each other, we see people’s lows and we just get to see each other help bring those people up, it definitely brings us together and show us that we can really grow as a team together,” Uedoi said.

Former Baldwin standout Joseph Randolph, The Maui News 2022-23 MIL Boy Athlete of the Year, leaves for school at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Ill., on Sunday, but he was there Thursday alongside his former Bears teammates.

“I was going to just hang out today, but that just didn’t feel right,” Randolph said. “Me and my girlfriend decided that, ‘Hey, there’s an islandwide crisis happening,’ so we’re very thankful to be here and to see everyone come out is truly a blessing.

“I know if downtown was on fire, I know Lahaina would do the same thing for us. Everyone here cares for each other, so along with Kihei, Upcountry, everyone feels for everybody here. Leaving Sunday is definitely going to be harder to do now. I keep everybody in my prayers.”

Malakai Panuve, Baldwin’s wrestling coach, said his team had more than 20 student-athletes working to help. Some were seen playing a pick-up soccer game with young evacuee children outside on the lawn next to the shelter.

“I’m still grasping just the thought of seeing all these people stranded — I don’t think it’s hit us hard yet,” Panuve said. “I’m lost for words, but all I can say is I’m just happy that I brought my team here on behalf of Baldwin High School athletics. We’re here as a team, we’re here as a family to help and give back and just support all these people who are in great need.”

Baldwin senior Nai Hasegawa, a 160-pound wrestler, said he was happy to be there.

“I can’t describe what’s going on because I don’t feel the way they feel, what they’re going through,” Hasegawa said. “I live in Kihei, so I thought my house was going to get attacked. So, when you’re in that moment of losing, you can only take a few things, there’s only four people that live in my house, my sister, my mom, my dad and me. There were some things we just had to leave behind when we had to go.

“What they’re going through was tragic and sad — I hope we, like everybody is saying, we stay together as one as we’re doing today. You know, stay strong is the best thing we can do.”

Jahlia Miguel, a Baldwin senior who was the 145-pound state champion in 2022, said she was grateful to be able to help.

“I’m heartbroken for all these Lahaina people that have to evacuate from their houses or when they go back to Lahaina have their house and everything gone,” Miguel said. “I feel bad for all of them because knowing that in Wailuku area nothing really happened to us, but then on the opposite side of the island a lot of things happened.”

Although communications with West Maui are still very sketchy, overhead views of the devastation in Lahaina suggested that the Lahaina Civic Center is still standing.

The Maui Jim Maui Invitational is scheduled to be played at the LCC Nov. 20-22. Tournament officials told The Maui News in a text message on Thursday that they “will be working to find ways to raise money to give back to the community that has given so much to our Tournament.”

The official statement from Maui Invitational tournament officials said: “We are actively monitoring the wildfire situation on Maui. Our main concern right now is the safety and well-being of our Maui ‘Ohana and the first responders that we know are doing everything in their power to keep the island safe. We will be able to share more information as it becomes available.”

Ilima-Lei MacFarlane, the former Bellator mixed martial arts champion from Oahu, started a fundraiser on her Na Wahine Toa Foundation earlier this week on the foundation’s Instagram account. As of Thursday afternoon, it had already surpassed its goal of $1 million and MacFarlane emphasized that every penny would go to relief efforts here.

Shane Victorino, the 1999 St. Anthony High School graduate and two-time World Series champion who now lives in Las Vegas, told Hawaii News Now on Wednesday that he is looking into the best way to help out here.

“I love my home, I love my place, you know, it gave me everything that I am, the kid that I am, the adult that I am today.” Victorino told HNN. “So, you know, I love my home, and I will do anything that I can, you know, to help rebuild that place and to make sure that, you know, that Maui will always remain No Ka Oi.”

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com.