{"id":228467,"date":"2026-01-20T13:55:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T23:55:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=228467"},"modified":"2026-01-20T14:05:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T00:05:14","slug":"cabello-sony-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2026\/01\/20\/cabello-sony-open\/","title":{"rendered":"Rainbow Warrior golfer Cabello gains valuable PGA<\/abbr> Tour experience at Sony Open"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"golfer
Anson Cabello became the seventh Rainbow Warrior to qualify for a PGA<\/abbr> Tour event. (Photo credit: Andrew Lee)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

University of Hawaiʻi<\/span> at Mānoa junior Anson Cabello gained valuable experience on the world golf stage at the Sony Open in Hawaiʻi<\/span>, closing his first PGA<\/abbr> Tour appearance with a strong second-round performance at Waiʻalae<\/span> Country Club, January 15 and 16.<\/p>\n

\"golfer
Cabello carded four birdies on the front nine of his second round in the 2026 Sony Open. (Photo credit: Andrew Lee)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Kahului, Maui native finished the tournament with rounds of 77 and 71 to post an 8-over par total, missing the weekend cut. Cabello earned his spot in the field by winning a local qualifier<\/a> in November. Cabello’s caddie was fellow teammate Nathan Szpakowicz.<\/p>\n

“It was so cool,” Cabello said. “This week didn\u2019t turn out the way I had hoped, but the whole experience with my caddie, my teammate—that was big. Just being able to experience this kind of event just means the world because there aren\u2019t that many opportunities for me to do this\u2026hopefully more in the future.”<\/p>\n

Battling back<\/h2>\n
\"golfer
Cabello’s caddie in the Sony Open was fellow teammate Nathan Szpakowicz. (Photo credit: Andrew Lee)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After a challenging opening round that included seven bogeys, Cabello responded in the second round. After starting with bogeys on holes 1 and 2, he settled in quickly, carding birdies on holes 3, 6, 8 and 9 to turn at 2-under par for the round. Cabello battled on the back nine to finish the day with a 1-over par 71.<\/p>\n

“I’m not going to lie, after those first two holes I thought I was going to shoot 80. I mean, to come back and start making solid swings down the stretch, it was big,” Cabello said. “Yesterday, that kind of happened and just couldn’t get anything going. After that start and the way I finished, couldn\u2019t be more proud of myself.”<\/p>\n

Cabello became the seventh Rainbow Warrior to qualify for a PGA<\/abbr> Tour event. He followed Blaze Akana, who competed in the tournament in 2023<\/a> and 2024<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In his third season with the Rainbow Warriors, Cabello is enjoying his best collegiate campaign to date. During the fall portion of the 2025–26 season, he averaged a team-best 70.33 strokes per round, shooting par or better in eight of nine rounds. His 10-under 203 finish at the Kāʻanapali<\/span> Classic by OUTRIGGER tied for the second-lowest 54-hole score in program history.<\/p>\n

The Rainbow Warriors return to collegiate competition February 5-7 at the Amer Ari Intercollegiate in Waimea, Hawaiʻi<\/span>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Kahului, Maui native finished the tournament with rounds of 77 and 71.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":228469,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1362],"tags":[58,1537,660,714,9,550],"class_list":["post-228467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-athletics","tag-athletics","tag-golf","tag-student-recognition","tag-student-athlete","tag-uh-manoa","tag-manoa-athletics","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t