Kung Keeps Smile on Her Face After Dreadful Performance

When Candie Kung walked off the 18th green at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage Friday, she was on the wrong end of the leaderboard.

Her 80-83--163 total in the LPGA Nabisco Championship was last among players who finished both rounds, and among the worst scores Kung has shot in any competitive rounds.

But the 18-year-old USC freshman, a Fountain Valley High graduate, managed to maintain a sense of humor.

“I’m in first place, right? I got the highest score,” she joked. “I should have ran into the lake.”

Winners at the Nabisco traditionally run into the lake surrounding the 18th green after they finish playing. Kung, who won her share of tournaments in earning the 1999 American Junior Golf Assn. Player of the Year award, never had a chance at the Nabisco.

Poor iron play hampered her first round and her putting stroke abandoned her in the second.

Kung, ranked No. 4 in the national collegiate golf rankings played the Nabisco on a sponsor exemption. She said her swing felt fine and she did not appear nervous while playing. She was in the final threesome on Friday.

“Last group, but the wrong day,” she said.

Kung acknowledged that she has a long way to go before embarking on a professional career, but the poor showing did not discourage the notion of turning professional.

“I still want to be a pro,” she said. “But I have some work to do.”

This was the second professional tournament for Kung. She qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open last year and shot 73-73 to miss the cut by two strokes.

Kung missed a USC trip to Hawaii so she could play in the Nabisco. Her brother, Justin, suggested that she could still make it to Hawaii for the tournament, which started Monday. Kung smiled and shook her head.

“After 80-83, if I show up there they might kick me off the team,” she said.

MOVING ON UP

Eunice Choi of Dove Canyon moved from fourth to second on the 2000 SBC Futures Tour money list after a third-place finish last week in the Hunters Ranch Classic in Paso Robles.

Choi shot a three-round total of par 216 in Paso Robles, finishing four shots behind winner Michelle Ellis of Australia, and earned $3,037.

Choi, a Laguna Hills High and UCLA graduate who finished fifth on the final money list last year, has finished second, sixth and third and has earned $8,793 in three tournaments this year. The top three on the final season money list receive exempt status on the 2001 LPGA Tour.

ANAHEIM CHAMPIONSHIPS

The deadline to enter the men’s division of the Anaheim Amateur City Golf Championships is Monday, but late entrants will get a break, said Bob Johns, the city’s director of golf.

“We never really officially published the deadline,” Johns said, “so we’ll probably take a few more entries beyond that date.

The men’s championship will be held April 29-30, at the Dad Miller and Anaheim Hills courses. Johns said about 250 men have signed up so far, 110 short of a full field.

The women’s and senior (50 and older) divisions will compete May 6-7 on the same courses. The deadline for the women’s and senior events is April 10.

The fee for all divisions is $130 and includes a cart at Anaheim Hills. For more information call, (714) 921-9311.

REVAMPED RANKINGS

Golfweek announced Monday that it will change the system it uses to rank junior golfers.

Beginning April 22, juniors will be ranked using a system developed by mathematician Jeff Sagarin, who ranks professionals and collegians for the magazine.

Sagarin uses a formula based on head-to-head competition and strength of field. The system currently in use assigns point values to top finishers in selected tournaments.

Angela Rho of Fullerton is No. 5 in the latest girls’ rankings. Nico Bollini of Yorba Linda is No. 9 among boys.

Staff writer Martin Beck contributed to this story.