T.J. Kua managed to cobble together two solid tours of Pearl Country Club.

Now he's hoping to put the elements of his game together for the weekend rounds in the Hawaii State Amateur Stroke Play Championship.

In a reversal from his opening round, Kua credited his irons for compensating for some shaky drives yesterday in a 3-under-par 69 that vaulted him into the 36-hole lead.

The University of Hawaii sophomore enters today's third round with a two-day total of 3-under 141 and holds a three-stroke lead over Bradley Shigezawa, who shot even-par 72 yesterday.

“;I threw some shots away out there, but to be in the position I am, it's OK,”; Kua said.

“;My game flip-flopped today. I was hitting my driver well yesterday and hit my irons bad. Today I hit my driver bad and hit my irons well. Hopefully I can piece them together and have one smooth weekend.”;

Kua will be grouped with Shigezawa and Zady Ari in today's 1:10 p.m. tee time. Ari is part of a six-way tie for third place at 2-over 146.

Relying on some grandfatherly advice, Kamehameha senior Alika Bell made the biggest jump of the second round, following an opening-round 79 with a 67, the low round of the day,

Before heading out to the first tee, Bell decided to switch from his cross-handed putting grip to a conventional grip on the practice green.

“;My grandpa told me it would help me drop more putts because I've been missing a whole bunch of putts,”; said Bell, who'd used the cross-handed style for the last five years. “;It was kind of a weird thing, but I had to try it.”;

The move paid off right away. After splitting the fairway with his drive on the par-5 first hole, he hit a 6-iron about 8 feet from the cup, then dropped his putt for eagle.

“;I started with an eagle, and that set me with a good pace for the rest of the round,”; said Bell, who's headed for the University of San Francisco in the fall.

The 12-stroke improvement moved Bell into the group at 146, which includes first-round leader Brett Komoto.

“;I wasn't mad or anything (after Thursday's round),”; Bell said. “;After you finish I just try not to think about it, just let it go, come out today and play a new round.”;

Shigezawa, a Northwestern-bound Punahou senior, began his round on No. 10 and tore through Pearl's back nine at 3 under and added another birdie at No. 1. But a devilish stretch from the second to fourth holes resulted in three straight bogeys.

“;At that part of the course it feels like there's a lot of wind exposure,”; Shigezawa said, “;You have a long par 3 an No. 4 is dead into the wind. It makes it challenging.

“;As a whole, I can't really complain too much with (shooting) even, but there's a lot more out there.”;

Allisen Corpuz, a Punahou sixth-grader, was among the 41 players to make the cut.

Although she estimated she was 30-40 yards behind her playing partners off the tee, she held her own to shoot a 76 yesterday. She enters the weekend at 151, six strokes above the cut line, and accomplished her objective for the tournament by making it to the weekend.

“;I played pretty good, but I couldn't putt today,”; the soft-spoken 11-year-old said. “;It was OK.”;