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GOLF Oshiro ties for second Central Point golfer briefly shares lead before Sukaree emerges Comment By Tim Trower Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Tim Trower Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 21, 2015 at 2:00 AM By Tim Trower Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 21, 2015 at 2:00 AM --> ... » Read more X CENTENNIAL AJGA BOYS : Ling Kun Kong of Arcadia, California, shoots a second consecutive 68 to take the title with an 8-under 136 overall score. Reese Fisher of Medford ties for fourth, five shots back. GIRLS : Central Point's Kiana Oshiro has one of the tourney's best rounds, a 69, and finishes in a tie for second with two others. Kornkamol Sukaree of Bangkok, Thailand, records a 70 and wins by two shots with a 140 total. » Social News Kiana Oshiro had to play catch-up in the final round of the Bishops Gate Golf Academy Junior at Centennial Thursday, but she had a number in mind that would do the trick. "Sixty-six," she said, without hesitation. After the Central Point teenager birdied the first two holes, her route to 66 in the American Junior Golf Association event was significantly enhanced. However, a closing bogey on a flubbed chip and steady play behind her by eventual champion Kornkamol Sukaree of Bangkok, Thailand, changed her course. Oshiro shot a 3-under-par 69, the second-lowest round of the day and tied for second best of the tournament, and wound up as co-runners-up with first-day leader Veronica Joels of Las Vegas and Olivia Benzin of Tacoma, Washington, who crafted a 67 for the two-day tourney's best round. The tournament, featuring 104 boys and 39 girls, was scheduled for 54 holes, but Tuesday's opening round was canceled because of unhealthy air conditions due to smoke. Kornkamol backed up a first-round 70 with the same score Thursday for a 140 total. Oshiro, Joels and Benzin were at 142. Central Point's Daniele Giles, like Oshiro a member of the Crater High golf team, was 3-under on the back nine and recorded a 73, putting her in seventh place with a 145. In the boys division, Ling Kun Kong of Arcadia, California, overtook first-day leader Connor Brown of Las Vegas and Medford's Reese Fisher, who was second after Day 1, for the championship. Kong shot a second straight 68 for an 8-under 136. Lucas Carper of San Jose, California, was second, firing a 69 for a 136. Brown was third (74, 140) and Fisher tied for fourth (74, 141) with five others. Oshiro, who was 1 over after the first day, got to 3 under for the tournament with a birdie on the 15th hole and momentarily shared the lead with Sukaree and Joels. But two groups behind her, Sukaree birdied No. 15 to move in front by one. Sukaree parred out and Oshiro and Joels each dropped a shot at No. 18. Oshiro was one of the top returners from last year, when she placed fourth, and was happy with her round. "It was a lot better than yesterday," she said. "I didn't have my putting yesterday, so I did a lot better." On Wednesday, her short game carried her through, regularly chipping close. On Thursday, it was her putting that helped account for five birdies and several par saves. She made about a 20-foot birdie putt on No. 1 and a 2-footer on No. 2 after nearly reaching the green on the par 5 with her hybrid second shot from 200 yards. Oshiro's plan from the outset was simple: "Just give myself the best shot. Hit the ball at least somewhere playable, in the fairway or even in the rough, then hit to a good spot where you could putt it." A birdie at No. 6 got her to 3 under on the day, but she bogeyed the seventh. A fourth birdie on the first nine, at No. 9, left her needing only to make a couple things happen on the back to pull it out. "I think I was like, 'I'm doing good, so don't screw up this hole,'" she said of No. 10. She parred it and the next four before the birdie at No. 15. A birdie putt at No. 13 was close, grazing the hole, and she was 10 yards from the green in two on the par-5 16th but left her chip well short and settled for par. At No. 18, she was long left to a back pin, then had a chip that traveled the length of a club. "The rough was different than most of the rough," she said. "It was tangled together so it just kind of came up all together at once." She got up and down on the next try and shrugged it off. "What happens, happens," she said. What happened for Sukaree was steady play. She had seven pars in the last eight holes, the lone interruption coming when she chipped in for birdie at No. 15. "Great," she said about how winning felt. "I just wished to be in top three, and I played well. My summer wasn't that good, so just wished to be in top three, and I made it." She didn't have visions of grandeur. "I just like to think about playing my best this round," she said, "so that not to make me so nervous. I tried not to think about winning." She credited a steady driver for her success. Kong was even par through the first seven holes, helping to create a sizable logjam at the top of the leaderboard. But he birdied four of the next six holes to separate himself, then kept control with five pars to end the round. Fisher, too, was in the mix for the first one-third of his round, making all pars. At the seventh, however, a double bogey derailed him. Apart from No. 13 (birdie) and No. 14 (bogey), he made pars the rest of the way. BOYS TOP 10 1. Ling Kun Kong, (China) Arcadia, Calif., 68—136 2. Lucas Carper, San Jose, Calif., 69—138 3. Connor Brown, Las Vegas, 74—140 T4. Reese Fisher, Medford, 74-141 T4. Nickolas Robinson, Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., 73—141 T4. Vivek Vasireddy, Fremont, Calif., 72—141 T4. Issei Tanabe, (Japan) Huntington Beach, Calif., 71—141 T4. Kyle Wilkinson, San Francisco, 71—141 T4. Cooper Donahue, Bend, 70—141 T10. Connor Chesky, Saint Helena, Calif., 72—142 T10. Eric Ghim, Glendale, Ariz., 72—142 T10. Ryan Johnson, Saint Helena, Calif., 68—142 OTHERS T31. Max Davis, Medford, 72—146 T49. Josh Wu, Medford, 75—149 T95. Jeremy Wu, Medford, 84—163 GIRLS TOP 10 1. Kornkamol Sukaree, Bangkok, Thailand, 70—140 T2. Veronica Joels, Las Vegas, 73—142 T2. Kiana Oshiro, Central Point, 69—142 T2. Olivia Benzin, Tacoma, Wash., 67—142 5. Waverly Whiston, San Diego, Calif., 70—143 6. Ty Akabane, Danville, Calif., 70—144 7. Daniele Giles, Central Point, 73—145 8. Joan Soewondo, Laguna Niguel, Calif., 72—146 9. Jiayu Kong, (China) Arcadia, Calif., 75—148 10. Susan Xiao, (China) Surrey, British Columbia, 77—149 Reach sports editor Tim Trower at 541-776-4479 or [email protected] By Tim Trower Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Tim Trower Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 21, 2015 at 2:00 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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