The Professional
By GWEN MURANAKA
RAFU ENGLISH EDITOR IN CHIEF
Sunday, July 22, 2007

One of the youngest players ever to make a tournament cut, 16-year-old Tadd Fujikawa sets his sights on the PGA tour.

Photos by GWEN MURANAKA/Rafu Shimpo
Tadd Fujikawa joined the 2007 Go For Broke Golf
Tournament on July 2 at Los Coyotes in Buena Park.
The 16-year-old phenom from Hawaii has announced
that he will join the professional ranks at the Reno-Tahoe
Open in August.

Fujikawa pauses for a photo with the top finishers in the Junior Tournament at the Go For Broke. From left: Jennel Alexander, Arielle Valdez-Kumamoto, Fujikawa, Cody Alexander and Nick Kuriyama. Kuriyama, age 15, took first place in the Junior division with a score of 76 and is on the West Torrance High School Varsity Golf Team.

It may be summer, but there’s no time for vacationing for Tadd Fujikawa, who at 16, has decided to turn pro. He makes his professional debut on Aug. 2 at the Reno-Tahoe Open. Fujikawa, who will be a junior at Moanalua High School in Honolulu, stunned the golfing world in January when he made the cut at the Sony Open, becoming the youngest player in 50 years to do so.

Speaking to The Rafu Shimpo, Fujikawa emphasized his commitment to becoming one of the best on the PGA tour.

“A lot of people say I have the heart to do well,” said Fujikawa. “I think that’s probably because I want to be the best. I think every golfer on the PGA tour wants to be the best.”

It’s been a busy summer for the 5’1” Fujikawa. He was in Los Angeles, to play at the Go For Broke golf tournament on July 2. A week earlier he had been in Georgia to meet with a new swing coach. And on Thursday he made the official announcement he was turning pro at a press conference at the Waialae Country Club in Honolulu.

But he doesn’t seem affected by the attention. While comparisons to Hawaii’s other teen sensation Michelle Wie are inevitable, Fujikawa remains remarkably grounded and unassuming. His mom Lori, who accompanied him to the Go For Broke tournament, does office work at an auto body shop, while his dad Derrick is a contractor.

“I think with having a good family and a good base is really important, that’s what gets me so far. My family is so supportive of everything I do—I can’t help but get better,” Fujikawa said.

At the Go For Broke tournament, Fujikawa graciously signed autographs and spoke with fans, many who towered over him. Fujikawa recently found out he had relatives who served during World War II.

“I didn’t know about it and then I asked my grandma and she said one of our family members were in the 442nd (Regimental Combat Team) or
100th (Battalion). So I had some free time, I might as well come over here,” he said.

Born on Jan. 8, 1991, three and a half months premature, doctors had given him a 50 percent chance of surviving. His first sport was judo, where he excelled winning four straight national championships from age eight to 11. He credited his mom’s cousin for introducing him to golf.

“She kinda started me when I was 8 years old. I was still doing judo competitively and I really wasn’t serious until age 12,” Fujikawa explained.
“That’s when I gave up judo. Actually I gave up everything for golf.”

His daily regimen is six to seven hours of practice every day, focusing on all aspects of the game. It doesn’t leave much for doing the typical teenager activities like hanging out at Ala Moana Mall, although he said he talks to his friends frequently—about golf, naturally. At the Go For Broke tournament, he arrived at his hotel at 2:30 a.m. and was up at 6:30 a.m. to workout. That evening he said he would be doing more training.

“There’s just so many things involved, it’s really hard to take a break,” Fujikawa said. “I feel for myself to get to the next level—the PGA tour level and being the best in the world—I need to do exactly what the other players are doing or more. That’s the only way I’m going to get better. If I have to give up hanging out with my friends or going to the mall I have to do that, I’m willing to make that sacrifice.”

In competitive play, Fujikawa has displayed remarkable mental toughness.
After his splashy turn at the Sony Open, Fujikawa won the 29th Hawaii Pearl Open, becoming the first amateur to win since 1992. Fujikawa clinched it, sinking a birdie putt on the last hole to win by a stroke.

He smiled broadly as he recalled doing color commentary for the Golf
Channel and getting a call from a certain famous Lefty after his play at the Sony Open.

“I got a call from Phil Mickelson. I was actually in school at the time. He called me and he was like, ‘Hi Tadd, this is Phil Mickelson, I just want to say you did a great job at the Sony, handling yourself, not only playing, just everything in general, I’ll see you on the tour one day,’” Fujikawa recalled.

After the Reno-Tahoe Open, he said he might try to go play in Japan and then perhaps two PGA events in October.

“Then I don’t know what’s after that. I’m going to take it one step at a time and try my best,” Fujikawa said. “Take a look back in December before Sony, I wouldn’t think I’d be here now. It just shows you that things can change in a second.”