Punahou frosh has drive of an artist, and mad scientist

Nogawa has been in Casey Nakama’s junior golf program at Pearl since she was 6 1/2. Murata is one of the coaches there.

“I first met Keelee when she was 7 years old. She might have been a little younger when she joined Casey Nakama’s program. I’m one of the coaches for his program,” Murata said. “She was so tiny. She was so cute. I’m so proud of her. I’ve had the opportunity to watch her grow over the years. She has invested so much time and effort into her game. It’s been rewarding to see.”

Nogawa’s best-four average is 73.5, which trails both Takai and Kage, a senior. Her devotion to the process, mentally deep-cleaning every square foot of every course she ever plays on, is probably unmatched. She is part golf nerd, part craftsman. The precision can look effortless, but only because of all the reps and layers of preparation. Card a score below 80 at Pearl, maybe you are an artist.

“They renovated the course (in 2025), so it’s entirely different. It brings back something different. When I play there, it’s my course,” she said. “The last hole I three-putted, so that was tricky. I knew it was going to be fast. That was kind of annoying, but I was thrilled. I think you need the science. In order to be an artist, you need all the statistics to create something.”

Whether it is devotion or obsession, it has been part of her since that first junior golf tournament at 8. She doesn’t mind being considered a workaholic.

“I think if you’re not a workaholic, you’re not going to get enough reps to compete with other people,” Nogawa said.

Takai agrees with the need to push further, but within sustainable boundaries.

“I think it depends. In golf, there are so many components, you have to be a workaholic to play at the highest level. More and more now, we’re seeing people get hurt when they’re young. High school, college golfers who can’t play at the next level because of an injury. You have to have balance,” she said. “I kind of have a set routine I go through every day. I try my best to do my mobility and stretching every day, warming up my body before I go on the course.”

Takai has a superpower of her own. At 5 feet 6, she might well be the best athlete in Hawaii girls golf. With three older siblings who also excelled in golf, she eventually picked up a club and never let it go.

“If I didn’t golf, I would’ve played soccer. When I picked up golf, I didn’t really enjoy it that much, but I stuck with it,” she said.

Oldest sister Victoria (Tori) played at Boston University, where Madison (Maddy) currently plays. Both played for the Buffanblu, as does brother Jordan, who is a senior golfer.

“Having three older siblings play at a really high level, we’re all really competitive with each other. It motivates you to give it a try,” Takai said.

Natural athleticism alone isn’t enough, of course. She asks questions.

“What I admire most is that Alexa is always seeking new knowledge and always looking for new ways to improve her game,” said Murata, who won three state titles at Punahou in the 1990s. “Very inquisitive. What’s funny is, our whole team I never have to worry about whether they’re putting in the work. I know they’re working hard every single day. If anything I worry about whether they’re getting any rest and recovery. You’ve got to be balanced with school.”

Her family’s legacy was already impactful, and then Alexa added to it.

“I met her formally when she was a freshman on our team. I had heard a lot about her since I became a coach. Her older siblings were on the team. I had always heard of the youngest sibling,” Murata added. “Alexa is very athletic. She has tremendous passion. Her intensity. Her confidence for sure — strength, confidence and intensity is what stands out.”

Takai won’t get too high or too low. In golf, this is the way.

“Last year, I won ILH. At states, I played good golf, had the lead and ended up in the lava rocks,” she said. “It’s a maturity thing. When you’re hitting the ball well and have one bad hole, I couldn’t get too worked up. This game is hard. You make mistakes. Move on.”

There will be five or six summer tournaments, she added. While her wrist healed in the past week, she took a light load. Kaneohe Klipper is reality. Kaneohe Klipper is mirage. Two years ago, round one of the state tourney was normal, with tradewinds coming off the ocean, right to left, facing Kahuku direction. A day later, the wind reversed direction and took many golfers down.

Takai hasn’t played or practiced at Klipper in a year.

“It gets windy there. If you get that down, you have an advantage,” she said. “It’s some of the smallest greens in Hawaii. Hawaii has smaller greens in general. It’s less of an art.”

Iron truly sharpens iron, but the two golfers also enjoy life as teammates.

“Alexa is always making me laugh. She’s such a great player, always making funny jokes about the course. We were practicing at Pearl the other day and she was being sarcastic about the greens. It’s so funny,” Nogawa said.

Performing under pressure doesn’t end when she leaves the course. Nogawa has played the violin as long as she has golfed. For years, violin recitals were part of life at Punahou. Now that recitals are in the past, she looks forward to concerts.

“I play violin for fun. We had a concert in Dillingham (Hall, last week). I’m happy doing concerts. We did a bunch of random songs that most people don’t know. Choral preludes. I think it was Bach,” Nogawa said. “A golf tournament is two or three times more stressful.”

The constant analysis of courses is part of Nogawa’s wiring. Her favorite class was seventh grade science.

“We had so many cool labs. Mr. (Gentry) Hirohata would organize something fun. A boat race in the pool,” she said.

The meticulous approach to preparation comes from home. Kerri Nogawa excels in the war room, plotting every step of the many road trips near and far.

“Her mom is much more disciplined than me,” dad Leland said. “She’s a better planner. She does a lot of thinking ahead, what we have to do. She spends hours and hours figuring logistics out. Where we stay, what we’ve got to do.”

“I try to learn from my mom. She’s always prepared,” Keelee said.

In May 2024, the family, including younger brother Kellen, trekked to Scotland. Keelee and Kellen played in a tourney.

“She played in the U.S. Kids Van Horn Cup. She was playing with these two kids who were expected to win,” Kerri Nogawa recalled. “But Keelee and her partner that round were on fire. She chipped a 30-yarder for eagle. It was a crazy round.”

The mental preparation, the math, the angles and physics of the game are all part of her core as a golfer. Like baseball and other sports with relatively low success rates, built for failure, Nogawa has a cool demeanor that belies her age.

“Golf is not a game of perfection. I used to get really upset. Then I realized, if I get upset, I would play worse,” she said. “My coaches were telling me that probably when I started playing tournaments when I was 8.”

Keelee Nogawa

Punahou golf • Freshman • 2026 ILH girls individual champion

Life of a globe-trotting golfer

“I’ve had one day (this spring) when we decided to rest. When we came back from our trip (AJGA in Texas) during spring break. We rested for one day, then played at Wailea (Maui). It was 30 mph (winds). It was crazy.”

Arsenal

Driver: Callaway Elyte

Woods: Callaway

Irons: Titleist

Putter: TaylorMade

Wedges: Titleist

Shoes: Nike Air Jordan

What is something you are passionate about that might surprise most people?

“I like playing Pokemon Go. My dad drives. I just like collect a Pokemon. It’s usually pretty close by. He plays too.”

Favorite hobby

“Other than golf, I like going fishing with my dad. We like to go on the boat. Waianae Boat Harbor or Hawaii Kai. We all help him clean it. One time we took someone fishing — one of our friends brought a banana and we didn’t catch anything.”

Top 3 movies/shows/books

1. “Mission Impossible.”

2. “Keeper of the Lost Cities” by Shannon Messenger.

“I probably started reading it in fourth grade. It’s a series and every book is thick. One was 900 pages. I’ve read all of them except one. I had a lot more time when I was younger.”

Top 3 homemade food

1. Mom’s tonkatsu.

2. Mom’s hamburger with brown gravy.

3. Mom’s baked chicken.

“I never actually made it myself, but I’ve helped make tonkatsu.”

Top 3 foods eating out

1. Teriyaki salmon, chocolate souffle (Roy’s Ko Olina)

2. Corn dogs, strawberry lemonade (Red Robin in San Diego)

3. Frozen custard (Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers in Conroe, Texas)

Top 3 music artists/favorite song

1. Kendrick Lamar — “Luther”

Favorite athlete/team

Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers.

“He’s awesome. He’s a two-way player and he’s good at both.”

Funniest teammate

Alexa Takai

Smartest teammate

Jessica Lee

GPA (cumulative)

3.89

“Teachers nowadays don’t give you study guides. They’re trying to make us more independent. They gave us study guides in eighth grade.”

Favorite teacher (all time)

Mrs. Lauren Ako

“She was my first grade teacher at Punahou. She’s been my violin teacher for super long. She’s really kind and always asking me about golf.”

Favorite class (all time)

Seventh grade science (Mr. Gentry Hirohata)

Favorite motto/scripture

Everything happens for a reason.

“I feel like you can always get something good out of anything stressful or bad.”

New life skill

Time management

Bucket list

“I would love to see the northern lights, and the shima enaga birds (in Hokkaido).”

Time machine

“I would travel 20 years in the future and see where my future self is at.”

Youth sports

Tennis and gymnastics

Shoutouts

“Thank you to Coach Anna (Murata) and Coach Ian (Parrish), my family for their love and support, and Coach Kevin (Shimomura) and Jimmy (Thibodeau) for always pushing me to be my best.”

Hawaii Prep World

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