After two rounds of the 62nd annual Jennie K. Wilson Women’s Invitational, it is obvious why ‘Iolani won the state high school golf championship and where Brittany Fan has directed her focus while being home-schooled.

Fan and Hana Furuichi share the lead going into this morning’s final round of the first Hawaii women’s major of the year.

Fan rode a 4-under-par 32 on Mid-Pacific Country Club’s back nine to a 74 Saturday. She spent the first semester of her junior year at Kamehameha, but has been studying online since and training from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily at the KMR School of Golf.

Furuichi, one of four freshmen who lifted the Raiders to their first state title this month, shot 76 to catch Fan at 5-over 149. Rose Huang, Furuichi’s freshman teammate at ‘Iolani, is a shot back. She was runner-up to Punahou’s Kacie Komoto at states, while Furuichi finished 12th. Both are 14.

Okinawa’s Hina Arakaki, 13, shot the day’s low score. She came back from an opening 80 to fire an even-par 72 into the stiff Lanikai breeze. Arakaki is along in fourth at 152.

Nicole Sakamoto is another shot back after rallying from a nightmarish start. Sakamoto, a Kalani graduate who just got her degree from James Madison, bogeyed five of her first six holes Saturday. She gave herself a chance today with three birdies in a four-hole span on the front nine — her second nine.

Sakamoto has won the Hawaii State stroke and match play titles the past two years and just finished one of the most decorated careers in JMU golf history.

She must be feeling old. Even Fan, 16, is considered middle-aged in the championship flight.

Fan surged ahead of first-round leader Furuichi with two birdies and an eagle on the back, stuffing her second shot within 6 feet on the par-5 16th.

“It was a good day of golf,” Fan said. “But on the front I messed up a little. Anyone can play good if you are hitting the fairways and greens and making putts.”

She backed up with six bogeys on the front, but still has an inside track on her first adult championship. She and Furuichi have both played Jennie K. before. All they remember is that their finish was “not that great.”

Fan attributes her rise to working full-time on her game.

“I’m working on my game with my coach and we do a lot of physical workouts after golf,” Fan says. “That really helps.”

Furuichi steadied out after a difficult back nine, putting together seven straight pars before finishing with bogey.

She drained a 20-footer at No. 7 and also got up and down on the next hole, which was so treacherous that Sakamoto nearly holed a chip shot, then watched in stunned silence as her ball picked up speed and rolled off the front of the green.

Furuichi is also concentrating on conditioning heading into the summer.

“I’m improving my drives. I used to hit a fade to the right and I’m working on hitting a draw,” she said. “So I go to sports medicine and my goal is to get stronger. I think it helps a lot.”

She will try to tone down her aggressiveness on Mid-Pac’s slick greens today.

Huang also eagled the 16th, sinking a long putt. That helped neutralize two double bogeys.

She joins Fan and Furuichi in the final group today. They tee off at 9:24 a.m.