Tadd Fujikawa

Tadd Fujikawa
— Golfer —
Personal information
Full name Tadd Fujikawa
Born (1991-01-08) January 8, 1991
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Height 5 ft 1 in (1.55 m)
Weight 150 lb (68 kg; 11 st)
Nationality  United States
Residence Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Career
College None
Turned professional 2007
Current tour(s) PGA Tour Canada
Former tour(s) eGolf Professional Tour
Hooters Tour
Professional wins 5
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament DNP
U.S. Open CUT: 2006
The Open Championship DNP
PGA Championship DNP

Tadd Fujikawa (born January 8, 1991) is a Japanese American professional golfer. Playing as an amateur at age 15, he qualified for the 2006 U.S. Open, the youngest golfer ever to do so. In 2007, he made the cut in a PGA Tour event at the Sony Open in Hawaii. At the age of 16 years, 4 days, he was, at that time, the second youngest player to ever achieve that feat. As of April 2013, he is the third youngest.

Early life

Fujikawa was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was born three months premature and doctors gave him a 50-50 chance of survival. He weighed 1 pound, 15 ounces and was so small that he could fit in his grandfather's palm. His parents worried that he would grow up with a mental disability.[1] Partially as a result of his premature birth, at age 18 Fujikawa stood 5 feet 1 inch (1.55 m) tall. As of March 2007 he stated his weight was 150 pounds.[2]

Amateur career

In 2006, Fujikawa qualified for the U.S. Open at Winged Foot by winning the Hawaii sectional qualifier(67-69-136), becoming the youngest player in history to qualify for the tournament. At the U.S. Open, Fujikawa shot 81-77(158) and missed the cut by nine strokes.[3]

Fujikawa made his second PGA Tour start (2006 U.S. Open was the first) at the 2007 Sony Open in Hawaii, having gained entry by shooting 67 in the Open Qualifier (PGA Tour Exemption Category #17).[4] In the second round of the Sony Open itself, Fujikawa became the youngest player in nearly 50 years to make a PGA Tour cut. A birdie on the 16th hole put him within the cut line, but it was his 15-foot eagle on the 18th hole that was his most memorable shot of the day. With that shot, Fujikawa secured a 4-under-par 66 and made the cut by three shots.[5]

Fujikawa followed up his history-making cut by shooting a second straight 66 in the third round, a score which, on that day, was bettered only by tournament leader Charles Howell III. Fujikawa made a 51-foot birdie on the 11th hole, finishing the third round tied for eighth place, along with Chad Campell and Tom Pernice Jr.[6]

Fujikawa shot 2-over-72 in Sunday's final round, which only included 2 birdies. He finished the tournament tied for 20th place at 5-under-275.[7]

One month after his record-breaking showing at the Sony Open in Hawaii, Fujikawa won the Hawaii Pearl Open, Hawaii's most lucrative local golf tournament, held annually since 1979. Fujikawa was the first amateur since 1992 to win the tournament.[8]

Professional career

2007

On July 12, 2007, Fujikawa announced that he would be turning pro. He made his debut at the Reno-Tahoe Open where he missed the cut.[9]

After missing the cut in each of his first three events as a professional, Fujikawa recorded a hole in one on the 17th hole in the first round of this Nationwide Tour event. He went on to shoot 70 and 71 in the first two rounds and missed the cut again, this time by 3 strokes.

In September 2007, he hit an albatross at the Omega European Masters in Switzerland on the European Tour. It was not enough to make the cut though.[10] He also missed the cut at the Children's Miracle Network Classic which was the last official 2007 PGA Tour event.

2008

On April 20, 2008, Fujikawa made his first cut as a professional and earned his first professional victory by winning the 50th annual Mid-Pacific Open in Hawaii. The Mid-Pacific Open is tournament run by the Mid-Pacific Country Club in Hawaii, with a mixed field of amateurs and professionals, mostly from Hawaii. Fujikawa's final score for the tournament was ten under-par 278. The second-place finisher was former PGA Tour tournament winner, 52-year-old David Ishii. At age 17, Fujikawa became the youngest winner in tournament history.[11] The tournament is not affiliated with any organized golf tour and is played mostly by Hawaiian amateurs and professionals, both adults and juniors. Punahou High School seniors Stephanie Kono and Anna Jang also made history at the tournament as the first females to play and Kono was the first female to make a cut. Kono finished 33rd.[12] [13] [14]

2009

In January 2009, Fujikawa Monday qualified for the Sony Open in Hawaii. He made the cut for the second time in three years, carding 71-69 to make the cut by one shot in blustery conditions. In the third round, he shot an 8-under 62, tying the course record, and moving him to within two shots of the leader. In the fourth round, he shot 73 and finished in a tie for 32nd place. On April 19, 2009, Fujikawa successfully defended his title and earned his second professional win at the 51st annual Mid-Pacific Open. Fujikawa's final score was twelve under par 276. Fujikawa won by nine shots over former PGA Tour tournament winner, David Ishii. In the first week of June, Fujikawa won another local event in Hawaii, the two-round Maui Open. In October, he went to PGA Tour Qualifying School in an attempt to earn his PGA Tour card for 2010. He failed to advance beyond the first stage of the three-stage process, missing the necessary score by six shots.[15]

2010

In January 2010, Fujikawa missed the cut by six stokes in the Sony Open on the PGA Tour. Shortly after he joined the eGolf Professional Tour, formerly known as the Tar Heel Tour, a developmental golf tour based in Charlotte, North Carolina.[16][17] Fujikawa played in four events in February and March, making the cut in all four, before withdrawing from an event in April, citing a back injury.[17][18] Two days later he said he felt fine saying, "I just slept kinda funny I guess." He accepted an invitation to play in The Crowns on the Japan Golf Tour two weeks later.[19] At The Crowns, he missed the cut by nine strokes. In December, he won the Hawaii State Open.[20]

2016

Fujikawa qualified for PGA Tour Canada in 2016.

Education and personal life

Fujikawa graduated from Moanalua High School in Honolulu, Hawaii in June 2009.[21] Fujikawa's father, Derrick Fujikawa, pleaded guilty to two counts of drug trafficking on February 3, 2009.[22] On August 24, 2009 he was sentenced to ten years in prison. He was eligible for parole after one year.[23]

Results in major championships

Tournament 2006
Masters Tournament DNP
U.S. Open CUT
The Open Championship DNP
PGA Championship DNP

DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tie
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

Youngest ever to make the cut in a PGA Tour event

Player Age Tournament Finish
Guan Tianlang 14 years, 5 months, 18 days 2013 Masters Tournament 58
Bob Panasik 15 years, 8 months, 20 days 1957 Canadian Open T66
Tadd Fujikawa 16 years, 4 days 2007 Sony Open in Hawaii T20
Justin Thomas 16 years, 2 months, 23 days 2009 Wyndham Championship T78
Matteo Manassero 16 years, 2 months, 29 days 2009 British Open T13
Ty Tryon 16 years, 9 months, 7 days 2001 Honda Classic T39
Jordan Spieth 16 years, 9 months, 24 days 2010 HP Byron Nelson Championship T16

Source[24][25]

References

  1. ↑ Shedloski, Dave (2007-01-13). "FINALLY! The teenager makes a cut!". Golf Channel/AP. Retrieved 2007-01-15.
  2. ↑ Murray, Steve (2007-03-09). "Everybody Loves Tadd". Midweek Printing. Retrieved 2009-01-20.
  3. ↑ "2006 U.S. Open Championship - Full Leaderboard". YAHOO. 2006-06-18. Retrieved 2007-05-31.
  4. ↑ Miller, Ann (2006-12-19). "Moanalua's Fujikawa qualifies for Sony". The Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved 2007-01-15.
  5. ↑ Ferguson, Doug (2007-01-13). "Little man Fujikawa is huge hit at Waialae". Associated Press/Yahoo. Retrieved 2007-01-13.
  6. ↑ Ferguson, Doug (2007-01-13). "Miracle child having dream week in PGA". Associated Press/Yahoo. Archived from the original on 2007-01-20. Retrieved 2007-01-14.
  7. ↑ PGA Tour (2007-01-14). "Teens Fujikawa and Wie present quite a contrast at Sony Open". Associated Press/PGA Tour. Retrieved 2007-01-15.
  8. ↑ Miller, Ann (2007-02-12). "Fujikawa wins Pearl Open by a stroke". The Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved 2007-02-12.
  9. ↑ "Family supportive of Tadd's 'tough decision'". Honolulu Advertiser. 2007-07-13. Retrieved 2007-07-13.
  10. ↑ "Golf-Rare albatross for American teenager Fujikawa". Reuters. 2007-09-07. Retrieved 2007-09-07.
  11. ↑ Associated Press (2008-04-21). "Teenager Fujikawa Wins Mid-Pacific Open for First Victory as a Pro". PGA.com. Retrieved 2008-04-22.
  12. ↑ Tang, Jason (2008-04-18). "History Made at Mid Pacific Open". KHNL. Retrieved 2008-04-22.
  13. ↑ Kwon, Bill (2008-04-03). "50th Mid-Pacific Open attracts historic field". Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved 2008-04-22.
  14. ↑ Morikawa, Kris (2008-04-15). "Fujikawa among 80 pros to tee off at Mid-Pacific Open". Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved 2008-04-22.
  15. ↑ Q-School already over for Fujikawa
  16. ↑ AP (2010-01-19). "Fujikawa headed for another island". Golf.com. Retrieved 2010-04-14.
  17. 1 2 "EGolf Professional Tour 2010 - Tadd Fujikawa". eGolf Tour. Retrieved 2010-04-14.
  18. ↑ "Fujikawa Withdraws". Honolulu Advertiser. 2010-04-11. Retrieved 2010-04-14.
  19. ↑ Advertiser Staff (2010-04-15). "Fujikawa to play in Japan". Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
  20. ↑ Fujikawa Wins Turtle Bay Resort Hawaii State Open
  21. ↑ http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090621/COLUMNISTS06/906210365/A+Tadd+more+by+others+can+help
  22. ↑ Teen Golfer Fujikawa's Father Pleads Guilty Yahoo Sports, February 3, 2009
  23. ↑ Tadd Fujikawa's Father Sentenced To Prison
  24. ↑ Spieth shoots 68-69 (-3) to make cut
  25. ↑ Guan youngest on Tour to make cut
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