Posted at 1:56 p.m., Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Fujikawa to play in pro events in Japan, on PGA Tour
By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer
Fujikawa, a 5-foot-1 sophomore at Moanalua High School, is still finalizing his schedule. His options have increased dramatically since the Sony Open in Hawai'i, where he became the youngest golfer to make a PGA Tour cut in 50 years.
The 16-year-old will debut on Japan's pro tour when he plays in the Chunichi Crowns, April 26 to 29. It is one of Japan's most popular and long-running tournaments. In 1986, Hawai'i's David Ishii made it the second of his 14 Japan tour titles. A year later, Ishii became the first foreigner to lead the tour in earnings.
In August, Fujikawa will play in the PGA Tour's Reno-Tahoe Open. The $3 million event, played at Montreux Golf and Country Club, has been looking for a title sponsor. It is played the same week as the $8 million World Golf Championships Bridgestone Invitational, won by Tiger Woods last year.
"We try to focus one exemption on an up-and-comer whose career can benefit from playing in a Tour event," Reno-Tahoe tournament director Jim Kline said. "We have done that in the past with Luke Donald, Adam Scott, Nick Watney, etc., and would love to do it with Tadd. He can add to our tournament because people would love to see him, but it's more about forging his career than helping us."
Will MacKenzie, a 2005 Q-school graduate, won last year's Reno-Tahoe Open when he birdied the final hole to beat Bob Estes by a stroke.
Fujikawa earned Hawai'i's amateur slot in the Sony in December. The Rolex Junior second-team All-American then tied for 20th in the PGA Tour's first full-field event of the year with a 5-under-par 275.
In February, Fujikawa followed up his Sony showing by winning the Hawai'i Pearl Open over a field full of American and Japanese pros. He hit his approach shot on the final hole to a foot and the ensuing birdie beat Hilo's Greg Meyer — a Top-50 player the Japan tour last year — by a shot.
