Kimberly Kim, a former Big Island resident now living in Mesa, Ariz., shot a 1-over 72 yesterday and was three strokes off the lead in fifth place at the Rolex Girls Junior Championship in Park City, Utah.

Kim was 4-over through 13 holes, then birdied Nos. 14, 16 and 17 to move into contention.

Esther Choe, of Scottsdale, Ariz., shot a 2-under 69 to lead three others by two strokes in the 75-player field.

ESPN QUALIFIER

Pearl Country Club will be the site of the ESPN National Golf Challenge local qualifier Wednesday.

The national event is an amateur two-person better-ball tournament with gross and net divisions. Entry fee is $105. The first tee time is 12:06 p.m.

The Hawai'i Regional Finals will be Aug. 27 at Turtle Bay Resort. The net and gross regional winners will win a trip to play in the National Finals at the Bali Hai and Royal Links Golf Clubs in Las Vegas on Nov. 13 and 14. The finals will be televised on ESPN2.

To enter, call Pearl Country Club at 487-3802 or log on to www.espngolf.com.

KIDS WORLD QUALIFIER

A qualifier for the 2006 U.S. Kids Golf World Championship will be held at Turtle Bay Resort on June 28.

The Turtle Bay qualifier is one of more than 50 throughout the country for the championship, which will be July 26 to 29 at Pinehurst Resort and three other courses in the Sandhills region of North Carolina.

Players can be from 4 to 12 years old, and can register for the tournament at www.uskidsgolf.com. There is no handicap requirement to participate.