Kailua-Kona’s Yoonjeong Huh led the way Wednesday as Hawaii stayed near the top of the leaderboard at the Girls Junior America’s Cup.
Huh, set to begin her freshman year at Makua Lani, made three birdies in Murrieta, Calif., to card a 1-under 71, shaving five strokes off her first-round score.
Thanks to even-par rounds from Maui’s Lana Calibuso-Kwee and Oahu’s Karissa Kilby, Hawaii was 1-over 433 through 36 holes and remained third in the 18-team field.
Led by Cassie Kim (66), Washington shot 5-under to take the lead at 428, two strokes ahead of Southern California heading into the final round.
Hilo’s Lacey Uchida looked headed for a strong round after making the turn at 2-under, but the Waiakea junior made two bogeys and a double-bogey and wound up with a 74 that didn’t count to her team’s second-round score.
She was 5-over in tie for 14th, and Huh was tied for 11th at 3-over.
Calibuso-Kwee, who opened with a 67 on Tuesday, fell from the top spot and was tied for second at 5-under.
Kilby, who opened with an 81, was tied for 27th.
Kanno makes cut
After a bogey-free first round, Hilo’s Isaiah Kanno started off with two more birdies Wednesday at the Boys Junior PGA Championship, but two double-bogeys cost him another low score in Hartford, Conn.
Kanno easily made the 36-hole cut at 3-under after a 2-over 72 left him in a tie for 27th.
Canon Claycomb of Kentucky followed a 62 with a 64 and held a one-shot lead at 14-under heading to the final round.
Scores soar at Dave & Buster’s
Scoring was hard to come by at the Dave & Buster’s Junior Classic, where only one golfer finished fewer than five shots from par at Oahu’s Ewa Beach Golf Club.
Hilo’s Kailey Oki finished fifth in the girls 15-18 flight, making two birdies during a 77 on Monday and carding an 83 on Tuesday to finish 16-over, which was six shots behind the winner, Honolulu’s Shayna Lu.
In boys 13-14, Hilo Dysen Park was sixth at 19-over (79-84) in the Hawaii Junior Golf Association event. Keaau’s Dillon Ah Chong was 21-over (80-85) in a tie for 10th in the older boys division, which was claimed by Honolulu’s Marshall Kim Jr., who closed with a 72 to get to 4-over.