Making the ultimate "sand save," PGA Tour member Parker McLachlin will pitch in with $24,000 worth of scholarship money awarded to this year's class of 12 Hawai'i High School Athletic Association Foundation Hall of Honor inductees.

McLachlin, a former golf and volleyball standout at Punahou, was inducted into the Hall of Honor himself in 1997 and his brother, Spencer, is a member of the 2007 class.

For the first time in its 26-year history, the Hall did not have a sponsor to award a $2,000 scholarship to each of the latest inductees, until McLachlin stepped in with his pledge on Wednesday.

This year's class will officially be inducted Sunday at the HHSAA Foundation Awards Dinner in Waikiki.

"When I heard about (the lack of scholarship money), I was kind of shocked," McLachlin said by phone yesterday from Columbus, Ohio. "These 12 kids had great success on and off the field, and they represent the best of what Hawai'i has to offer. I think (the scholarship) should reflect the stature of the award."

The Hall of Honor was established in 1982 by Nissan Hawai'i, in an effort to recognize 12 of the state's top high school senior athletes.

The first class was inducted in 1983.

A 16-person committee annually reviews up to 90 or more applications over a two-day meeting in late May to select the 12 based mainly on athletic achievement, but also taking into consideration character, academic standing and community/school service.

"It's an incredible honor, and obviously it was a huge honor for me," said McLachlin, who went on to become an All-Pac 10 golfer at UCLA. "The entire state can be proud of these kids, but the award should be significant ... it's more than a pat on the back. They need scholarship money to further their education and achieve even more."

Members of this year's class are:

• Breland Almadova, 'Iolani (football, baseball);

• Tani Costa, Kalani (soccer);

• Jray Galea'i, Kahuku (football, basketball);

• Taylor Ibera, Farrington (judo, wrestling);

• Bryce Jenkins, Leilehua (cross country, track);

• Kristin Lim, Punahou (tennis, soccer);

• Kela Marciel, 'Iolani (football, basketball, baseball);

• Bailey Massenburg, King Kekaulike (cross country, track);

• Aisha Price, Punahou (soccer, water polo);

• Meleana Shim, Kamehameha (soccer);

• Christel Simms, Punahou (swimming);

• Manti Te'o, Punahou (football, basketball).

For the program's first 21 years, it was known as the Nissan Hawai'i High School Hall of Honor. The HHSAA Foundation took over the program in 2004 after Nissan Hawai'i was dissolved.

For the past three years, The Honolulu Advertiser has been a title sponsor.

But with economic conditions making sponsorship money harder to come by, HHSAA executive director Keith Amemiya was resigned last month to concede the scholarship awards for this year and move forward with the enshrinement dinner.

"We greatly appreciate Parker's generosity at a time when financial support is sorely needed," Amemiya said yesterday. "He's always been a great role model and ambassador for Hawai'i, and this is a nice example of someone giving back and showing appreciation for those who helped make his achievements possible."

McLachlin was not on full scholarship at UCLA and said he used his $2,000 Hall of Honor award to help pay for college expenses. He graduated in 2002 with a bachelor's degree in sociology.

McLachlin's mother, Beth, is on the Hall of Honor selection committee and told him about the lack of scholarship money two weeks ago. McLachlin's parents have both been heavily involved in Hawai'i high school athletics as coaches and administrators.

"For me, this is the perfect thing to be involved in," McLachlin said. "My parents were coaches and mentors to a lot of kids, and it means a lot to them. The biggest thing is for the Hawai'i kids to continue to dream bigger and reach higher."

McLachlin entered this week ranked 161st on the PGA Money List, with $191,082. He is playing in the Memorial Tournament today.

Read his blog on high school sports at http://preptalk.honadvblogs.com.