Pinehurst’s A.J. Beechler led the Boys 11 field by three strokes heading into Saturday’s final round at the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship.

Beechler backed up an opening-round 69 with a 68 in the second round, taking him to 7-under-par. Galven Green, of Malaysia, posted the only other second round in the 60s, firing a 69 that put him alone in second place. Kyle Cox, of Carrollton, Texas, was four back of of Beechler. Benjamin Crow, of Pinehurst, was tied for 89th after shooting 80-82.

Thunderstorms rolled through the Sandhills Friday afternoon, suspending play and forcing some of the divisions to wrap up the second round Saturday morning.

In the Boys 12 division, Koichiro Ishika, of Japan, and Eddy Lai, of San Jose, Calif., were tied in first at 10-under-par. Wonjun Lee, of Korea, was one stroke back heading into the final round. Sean Chang, of Aberdeen, was tied for 82 after firing an 82-75.

Clare Amelia Legaspi, a 2010 world champion from the Philippines, led the Girls 12 division by two heading into the final round at Pinehurst No. 3

Youngin Chun, of South Korea, shot a four-under par 68 to take the lead at Southern Pines Golf Club in the Girls 11 division. She sits at 5 under and led by two.

In the Boys 10 division, Wen Liang Xie, of China, led Ricky Castillo, of Yorba Linda, Calif., by one stroke after posting a 66 in the second round.

Anina Ku, of Basking Ridge, N.J., who shot an amazing 9-under-par 63 in the first round, scored a 69 in the second to get her to 12-under-par for the championship. She led the Girls 10 field by seven strokes.

The Boys 9 division remained tight heading into the final round. Nicholas Gabrelcik, of Trinity, Fla., led at 4 under. David Hu, of Canada, was just one shot back. Symon Balbin, of Pinehurst, was tied for 49th with an 81-79.

In the Girls 9 division, Karah Sanford fired a 3-under-par 33 in the second round after firing a 31 to open the tournament. She led the field by a whopping eight strokes.

Jackson Rivera, of Rossmoor, Calif, used a 2-under-par 34 to catch first-round leader Benjamin James, of Waterbury, Conn., at the top of the leaderboard in the Boys 8 division. Foxfire’s Colin Dutton was tied for 65th at press time, with a three-round total of 45-45-46—136. Conlan Kane, of Pinehurst, was tied for 76th shooting 47-49-46—142.

In the Girls 8 division, Mimi Chen, of China, took the lead with a 1-under-par 35 in the second round. She led by two heading into the final round.

Jed Dy, of the Philippines, shot a 3-under-par 33 to take the lead in the Boys 7 division. He led Jeevan Sihota, of Canada, and Jackson Van Paris, of Lake Forest, Ill. by three.

Sky Sudberry, of Spring, Texas, led Girls 7 & Under division after a 3-under-par 33 in the second round.

Allan Kournikova, of Palm Beach, Fla. led the Boys 6 & Under division by three strokes.

Garrett Kane, of Pinehurst, was tied for 14th with two rounds of 39.

The final round concluded after The Pilot’s print deadline Saturday. For the latest results, see thepilot.com.