Save for 18, Kung shines on first day

Friday, April 18, 2003 | 10:08 a.m.

Even though he owns an engineering degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Justin Kung is unemployed. Yet he couldn't have been happier Thursday afternoon.

Candie Kung, Justin's little sister, scored six birdies over a 10-hole stretch and finished in a four-way tie for third place, at 5-under 67, during the first day of the LPGA Takefuji Classic.

Kung, Cristie Kerr, Emilee Klein and Kim Saiki trail co-leaders Laura Diaz and Catriona Matthew by a shot at Las Vegas Country Club.

"It was a pretty good day," said Kung, whose double-bogey 7 on the blustery 495-yard 18th hole derailed her quest for the first-round lead.

"The wind is not that easy to judge," said Justin Kung, who caddied for his sister for a spell last season and is mulling some business opportunities. "I don't expect it to be easy for her. I think she'll be a little bit nervous, a natural response that comes with being near the lead."

By moving from Taiwan to the Los Angeles area in 1990, Justin knows about new and tense situations. He left for the States with the blessing of his parents, to further his education and enhance his future.

Five years later, Justin convinced father Sen Sun, mother Chao Hsou-Tao and sister Candie to make the same journey to Los Angeles.

Justin Kung, 27, said he has completed the paperwork, interviews and background checks with Immigration and Naturalization Services personnel, and he expects to take an oath of U.S. citizenship in a ceremony in Los Angeles by July.

He said his parents and Candie are on track to do the same by next spring.

Little did Candie, 21, know how her older brother's initiative would affect her.

"I'm always the one who follows," she said. "My brother is a great guy, very smart. He always wanted to come here to get his education. It was great for him to come here, and for me and my parents to follow."

The family settled in Fountain Valley, then moved to Monterey Park to shorten Candie's commute to the University of Southern California.

While becoming a two-time NCAA All-American and winning the Pac-10 championship in 2000, she had difficulty juggling school work and golf. School work lost, and she dropped out of USC. The family now resides in the L.A. suburb of Rowland Heights.

"I wasn't a school person at all," Candie said, "even in Taiwan."

She qualified for the LPGA Tour on her first attempt, then won $260,000 last season by making 19 of 22 cuts, which included five top-10 finishes.

After Thursday's round, she meticulously reviewed shot distances to wind gusts on six or seven holes. When asked how she began playing, though, Kung became coy. Her brother said she started playing at age 13.

"My dad played golf in Taiwan," Candie Kung said of Sen Sun, who was a civil engineer in his native land. "One day I went to the driving range with him, and here I am."

Kung finished fifth on the tour in hitting greens in regulation last season, but has slipped to a tie for 74th this year. She has added power to her game, though, and is 10th on the tour with a 274.6-yard driving average.

She had adopted a Sergio Garcia-like waggle, to give her more time to consider her shot options, but she abruptly dropped it Wednesday. Justin said the less his sister thinks, the better, which she confirmed.

She also picked up a new caddie, Jason Hamilton, two weeks ago and trusts his judgment and input almost as implicitly as her brother's. Justin has such respect for his sister's career, he declined a request to pose for a photograph beside her.

He is content with being responsible for relocating his family from nearly the other side of the world.

"There has been a democracy in Taiwan for about 10 or 15 years, but it isn't like it is here," he said. "People there don't think about the system. They are all out for themselves, not for the interest of society. That creates chaos.

"Here, the system has been in place for so long. There are checks and balances everywhere. This is the best country in the world to live in. You can do anything, if you put your mind and effort into it."