LIHUE — Kade Kikuchi, winning the Hawaii State Junior Golf Association 14 and Under Junior Tour Series-Big Island on April 15, will be teeing off Saturday when the first round of the HSJGA 14U JTS-Kauai goes off at the Wailua Golf Course.
Kikuchi, trailing by two strokes following the first round on the Big Island, rebounded in Round 2 to take the Boys 11-12 flight with a two-day 161 (82-79), four strokes ahead of Ben Cafferio of Wailuku, Maui at the Mauna Lani Resort-North Course.
During the HSJGA 14U JTS-Oahu tournament, Kikuchi finished tied for first with Cafferio on March 25 after coming back from a two-stroke deficit on the first round.
He will tee off at 11:27 a.m. Friday along with Tyler Tamayori of Pearl City, Oahu, playing a par 72 over 5,852 yards at the Wailua Golf Course.
Kikuchi will be joined by Ryan Chang of Lihue, Cafferio, and Justin Todd of Kaneohe in the Boys 11-12 flight.
Currently, Kikuchi leads the HSJGA points of the year with two wins for 1090 points, 80 points ahead of Cafferio. Tamayori is third in the HSJGA points standing at 750 points.
Kauai’s Heiley Kikuchi, of Lihue, and Rianna Chang of Lihue will be among the field of the Girls 7-10 flight at the tournament that will wrap up Sunday.
Kiara Johnson of Lihue will be matching up against Kailee-Lei McKee of Ewa Beach, Oahu, and Teal Matsueda of Honolulu in the Girls 11-12 flight. Matsueda won the Girls 11-12 flight at the HSJGA 14U JTS-Big Island after firing a three-under par 69 on the second round.
Ferrari Dudoit of Waikele, Oahu won the April 15 tournament on the Big Island by three strokes and will go up against Hilo’s Kailey Oki in the Girls 13-14 flight. There are no Kauai players in this flight.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
