Most of the attention is focused on Michelle Wie's summer travels. But more than 60 other talented young local golfers are representing Hawai'i in other tournaments from California to Massachusetts and Mexico this summer.

Getting a head start are Stanford-bound Mari Chun and Kimberly Kim, a 13-year-old from Pahoa who will be entering Waiakea High School in the fall. Both were invited to the Rolex Tournament of Champions, a major American Junior Golf Association event that began yesterday at Hilton Head Island, S.C.

Chun and Kim also are the busiest of perhaps the most competitive group of local junior golfers ever assembled for the swing of Mainland tournaments each summer. Yes, they seem to be getting better every year.

Chun, a 2005 Kamehameha Schools graduate and reigning Jennie K. Wilson Invitational champion, also will play in the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship in Kansas City, Mo., the U.S. Girls' Junior Championship in Eagle, Idaho, the McDonald's Betsy Rawls Championship in Malvern, Pa., and the U.S. Women's Amateur Championship in Roswell, Ga.

She turned down an exemption as the defending champion in the girls' 15-to-17 division in the Callaway Junior World Championship in San Diego because the schedule conflicted with the women's public links.

A two-time Junior World champion, Kim will skip the San Diego tournament and the women's public links, which she qualified for as well, to play in the Westfield PGA Junior Championship in Ohio.

Also representing Hawai'i in the prestigious junior PGA event, July 13 to 16, will be incoming Punahou School sophomore Stephanie Kono, who gained an exemption by finishing fourth last year, and Chan Kim, the top boys qualifier locally.

Kim and Kono also will join Chun in the U.S. Girls Junior Championship and the Betsy Rawls Championship, another high-profile AJGA event.

Of the summer national events, the PGA Westfield is considered the biggie because the sponsoring PGA of America pays all of the expenses — roundtrip airfare and accommodations. It's quite a money-saving factor for parents, who otherwise have to foot most of the travel costs.

For Mari's parents, Alan and Lani Chun, it means only one of them can accompany her to the tournaments. Alan is taking vacation time to be with Mari at the Rolex event this week while Lani prepares for a craft fair next week at Thomas Square Park "to help pay for the bills."

They'll switch places at the women's public links in Missouri with Lani accompanying Mari for the remainder of the summer sojourn. Caroline O'Connor, Stanford women's golf coach, is expected to follow Chun at most of her events. Another Stanford freshman recruit, Ki-Shui Liao, also is entered in the Betsy Rawls tournament.

Travel arrangements are even more complicated — and costly — for Kimberly's parents, Soo Young and Arlene Kim. Besides Kimberly, sister Christine, who will be a senior at Waiakea High, is also doing quite a bit of traveling.

Christine Kim, the 2005 girls state high school champion, will be playing in the Junior World, an AJGA tournament in Diablo Grande, Calif., and the Girls Junior America's Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico. Arlene will travel with Christine, while dad will accompany Kimberly.

Despite getting all expenses for Kimberly, this summer will cost around $10,000, according to Kim, a Big Island orchid grower. "But it's worth it," he said. "I really enjoy spending time watching them since they started playing golf."

"I enjoy traveling and meeting different people," says Kimberly.

Adds Christine about their separate travels, "At least, I won't have to caddy for her."

Not counting Wie, perhaps no one will log more air miles this summer than Britney Choy, who will be a senior in the fall at Leilehua High School.

After the Junior World in San Diego, the 2004 O'ahu Interscholastic Association and state champion will fly to North Carolina to play in the Women's Trans Amateur Championship.

From there, Choy will return to Los Angeles to meet up with Hawai'i teammates — Christine Kim, Miki Ueoka and Kristina Merkle — for the Girls Junior America's Cup in Mexico and then from there to the Big I Championship at the Purdue University golf course in Indiana.

Shelly Choy figures her daughter's itinerary totals 13,124 air miles.

Besides Kaitlen Miyajima, a junior-to-be at Baldwin High School who will be playing in the U.S. Girls' Junior Championship and the women's public links, another youngster set to log a lot of miles this summer is Ayaka Kaneko. The Sacred Hearts freshman is entered in the Junior World, the U.S. Women's Amateur in Georgia after qualifying in Denver, and the Ping Junior Championships in Phoenix.

Junior boys will be hitting the road as well with recent Hilo High graduate Jacob Low, who will enroll at University of Hawai'i-Hilo in the fall, leading the way with appearances in the U.S. Men's Public Links Championship, the U.S. Junior Amateur and the Boys Junior America's Cup.

Low's teammates for the America's Cup in Sheridan, Wyo., will be Honoka'a junior Sean Maekawa, the 2005 Big Island Interscholastic Federation champion; Thomas Robertson, an incoming junior at King Kekaulike High School on Maui, and 14-year-old Tadd Fujikawa, who qualified but turned down the Junior World Championship because he wasn't allowed to "play up" at the 15-to-17 level.

Maekawa is also playing in the men's public links, an event in which Wie became the first female to qualify. Also entered are veterans Jonathan Ota and Royden Heirakuji.

"They're getting younger every year," said Heirakuji, who'll turn 40 the week of the tournament at the Shaker Run Golf Club in Lebanon, Ohio.

Kellen Watabu, the boys state high school champion from Kaua'i, heads a large contingent going to the Junior World but won't accompany the Hawai'i group competing in the Optimist International Junior Championships in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., the following week.

Hawai'i teens spend summer vacation at events across nation

Tournaments where Hawai'i junior golfers will be traveling to this summer. Above are top five juniors in Hawai'i and the events in which they are scheduled to participate.