There was no yellow brick road for Tadd Fujikawa to follow at last year's Sony Open in Hawai'i, just as there was no blueprint for what came next.

At 16, he was the second-youngest ever to make a PGA Tour cut. When he turned pro seven months later, finally convincing his family it was the only way to pursue his dream without going broke, the Fujikawas found themselves in uncharted territory. At least now, as the Sony starts this morning at Waialae Country Club, they are home.

After his remarkable run here last year, which ended in a tie for 20th place, Fujikawa is the tournament's most prominent profile. What he has done the past year, and his plans for the future, are on most minds.

Jim Furyk, the top-ranked golfer here at No. 3 in the world and Fujikawa's partner for the final round last year, hopes people stay patient with the little guy who turned 17 Tuesday.

"If you took 100 guys on tour and compared them to him, I'd say 99 were not near as good as he was at 16," Furyk said. "The biggest challenge for him is he was under the national radar, but not many turn pro at 16 and play as well as he did. Now there is more pressure for him to succeed at 17 than there was on me to succeed at 23.

"It's easier to improve at your own rate, without a lot of fanfare behind it. Young guys will always have their eye on him. People will be writing about him. Everybody has got an opinion on whether it was right or wrong. There is added pressure."

And, defending Sony champion Paul Goydos adds, "there is no going back." The Fujikawas are fine with that.

The fluid plan they put into place with attorney Kevin Bell beginning in June has Tadd pretty much where they hoped he would be after the agonizing decision to turn pro. They made it, finally, because they simply could not afford to get their son the instruction and competition he wanted so badly.

"Without the opportunity for him to try and qualify for the amateur (Sony) slot this would have never, ever happened," said Lori Fujikawa, whose son also took advantage of Hawai'i's now-defunct U.S. Open sectional to become the youngest to qualify for that prestigious event. "I'm glad we had that because there are a lot of good junior golfers in Hawai'i and everybody just doesn't get recognized.

"It's really tough. It costs us double or triple what others pay to go to a Mainland tournament. We're a middle-income family and it's really hard. You see other parents on the Mainland and they are very wealthy. They don't understand. It is different, I don't care what anybody says."

Goydos does understand, and is sympathetic. "Being in Hawai'i is a little different issue than say somebody in Florida playing amateur events all over country," he said. "There are not a thousand of them nearby in Hawai'i. But in the negative column, college golf is a great way to learn a trade. The way he is going, he could have played big-time collegiate golf. But on an island, things are a little different."

Bell, a friend of a friend who is a lawyer in Washington D.C., originally was brought in to offer advice on retaining Tadd's amateur status. His first conversation with Lori lasted four hours. She was overwhelmed with calls, offers and options.

By June, running out of money but not offers, they had formulated a plan on turning professional. Bell's idea was to make it low-key, without any early endorsements, focusing on the need to improve Tadd's game and the expense involved. The Fujikawas agreed. "We need to do things so this doesn't appear you are doing this for the wrong reasons," he told them, "which you are not."

Tadd nixed an equipment deal last year, which would have erased most, if not all, the financial concerns. He was worried using 14 clubs from the same manufacturer might harm his maturing game.

"It was his decision," said Bell, whose "salary" is a percentage of endorsement deals. "I told him, 'You are the athlete. These are the tools of your trade. You have got to have perfect stuff. Take whatever time you need.' "

The first project was to find tournaments to play in. The Fujikawas and Bell found eight for the last seven months of 2007, which took him from Switzerland to Canada and Japan to the Mainland. Tadd missed every cut, and is probably the most disappointed in the family.

"I see a big improvement in his game, more maturity," said his grandfather, Danny Fujikawa. "It's not that he is striking the ball longer or shorter, but his game is more well-managed. His biggest problem is course management. Once he gets that, he will be OK. He's getting stronger. He still over-practices in my opinion, but I don't know how to stop him."

Danny's goal in 2008 is for Tadd to make half the cuts — "Tadd wants to make them all" — and collect a top 10 or two. Tadd is focusing on lowering his scoring average. Lori, who does most of the coaching in Hawai'i, talks about top 20s or 30s, preparing for qualifying school and then gets more specific.

"Of course winning is always the main goal," she said. "But if he can consistently come in there, especially on the PGA Tour side, and maybe a top 5 in Japan, it would be nice. We look at his game ... try to increase his greens in regulation and improve his putting and gain more experience. That's the most important thing.

"We didn't expect him to come out and wipe out the golf world. There's a lot for him to learn and the only way is to gain experience. Otherwise, we'd pick and choose a couple junior tournaments and lessons would be a lot different, too."

Tadd began taking lessons at Sea Island, Ga., before he turned pro, in a structured program that breaks down every part of his game and gives him all golf, all the time. Bell figures that type of instruction, fees for tournaments and caddies, travel and all other expenses for 15 to 20 tournaments this year will come out to at least $250,000 .

He believes the Fujikawas now have it covered. Tadd's first endorsement deal was with Aloha Petroleum, and Kraft Foods Hawai'i followed. Both are aligned with benefits for Hawai'i junior golf. He just signed with HMAA, which does business health plans. All are one-year deals with an option to renew.

A multiple-year deal with a luxury watch maker could be next, along with the announcement of a third PGA Tour exemption this year (Fujikawa will play the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am after Sony). They are looking at hotel, airlines and electronic deals and an equipment/apparel deal should happen this year.

"My thought is to try and find as many local sponsors as possible," Bell said. "They 'get it' better, understand the value Tadd adds to a company in the Islands because they see how popular Tadd is. Secondly, he can fulfill a lot of his obligations while he's home."

That makes Moanalua High School, where Tadd is a junior, much happier. The school has worked with the Fujikawas on a schedule that allows him freedom to practice and travel. Every month, Bell and the family look back to make sure the plan, including school, is working.

This is the first year Fujikawa can play the tour's Qualifying School and his goal is to get his card that way or by finishing in the top 125 on the money list.

His family is intent on doing what it can to get him there. This week, Lori believes Tadd needs to concentrate on "naturally letting it come" on the tour course he is most comfortable. Her son recalls the Friday a year ago when he became the first amateur to make a Sony cut and realized he could play with the best in the world.

Bell, at the Sony for the first time this year, remembers another remarkable moment in a year unlike any other, with a young man who seems to make the transition from child to pro golfer seamless.

"After he hit his double eagle at Omega, Tadd spent about 25 minutes playing on a slide and swing with my daughter," Bell recalled. "Here's a kid who just hit a double eagle on the longest par-5 on the European Tour, just got a watch given to him by James Bond (Roger Moore). Everyone is swarming him for autographs and here he is, 20 minutes later, in a park across a lake going down the slide with my 2-year old."

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.