Monday, Jan. 14, 2008

HONOLULU (AP)He thought he had the game and was determined to play golf for a living, so he turned pro before finishing high school and spent two years traveling the world as he tried to make it to the big leagues.

Tadd Fujikawa reacts after missing a putt during the first round of the Sony Open on Thursday in Honolulu. Fujikawa missed the cut. AP PHOTO

Maybe it will pay off at the Sony Open.

Kevin Na went into the third round Saturday only two shots out of the lead.

The other kid taking a similar route is Tadd Fujikawa, who missed the cut for the ninth straight time since turning pro last summer. Fujikawa made history last year at the Sony Open when he was 16 as the youngest player in 50 years to make the cut on the PGA Tour.

The encore didn't go according to plan.

A year ago, he dropped his putter and raised his arms in triumph after an eagle putt in the second round for a 66. On Friday, he lifted his head to the blue skies over Oahu and closed his eyes as his shots found the rough and his putts caught the lip.

He went 74-70 and missed the cut by four shots.

Fujikawa has played four times on the PGA Tour, twice on the Nationwide Tour, and once each in Japan, Europe and on the Canadian Tour. He is still waiting to cash his first paycheck.

The pressure likely will build.

Questions are sure to follow whether Fujikawa, a 5-foot-1 junior in high school with a big heart and impeccable manners, made the right choice by turning pro so early.

"I think it was the right decision," he said. "I have no regrets as of right now, and hopefully throughout my golf career."

His next stop is the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, the second of seven exemptions he is allowed on the PGA Tour. His agent, Kevin Bell, has letters out to just about every tournament as he tries to build a schedule.

Spots on the Nationwide Tour are hard to find, a circuit filled with players grinding to make the PGA Tour. He received an offer a few weeks ago to play in Abu Dhabi, but had to turn it down because he could not get from Hawaii to the Middle East until the early hours of Wednesday. They are looking at Europe and Japan.

The road looks even bumpier because it starts in Honolulu, and that naturally evokes comparisons of another teenager from Hawaii who turned pro as a junior in high school. Michelle Wie is now in a tailspin, brought on by injury and questionable advice.

Fujikawa, however, finds inspiration from Na.

Born in South Korea, Na moved to southern California when he was 8, picked up the game a few years later and was one of the top juniors when he dropped out of high school and turned pro.

He failed at Q-school, then went to the Asian Tour and won the Volvo Masters of Asia, which got him into a World Golf Championship at age 19. He made it through Q-school later that year and has kept his card each year.

Na's advice to Fujikawa was to keep playing.

"He just needs to play a lot of tournaments, whether that's Nationwide, PGA Tour, any tournament he can play anywhere," Na said. "He's popular, so he can get a lot of sponsor exemptions overseas. I think that's a great place to go, because you get to see the different parts of the world as a young person, and I think that really opens up your mind."

One reason for turning pro was financial. Fujikawa found it difficult to pay for travel to amateur tournaments, and a few endorsements help with the travel.

"His parents only want him to get out and play tournaments," Bell said. "They're not looking for $500,000 endorsements. That's not realistic. They want to make sure he likes what he's doing. His goal is to get his tour card when he's 21. If he can do it sooner, even better."

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