East West - The Asian American Lifestyle Magazine

He took the golfing world by storm this past weekend at the Sony Open, but we met Tadd back in October 2006 before his name was in headlines.
By Jayna Rust (originally published Oct. 2006)

America has a David-and-Goliath complex. We love to cheer for the underdog, the one who seems to have no chance, the little guy. And golf’s Tadd Fujikawa fits the bill.

At 5-foot 1-inch, he’s definitely a little guy, and until this summer, you would have probably overlooked him. Playing mostly in American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) tournaments, the 15-year-old was just another amateur golfer. That is until he made it to the U.S. Open and became the youngest player to compete for the title.

It was these against-all-odds statistics that brought Fujikawa to the limelight in June. It was these odds that had America rooting for him.

Journey to the green
When Fujikawa shot 70 and 71 in his U.S. Open qualifying sectional, headlines across the country raved about the Hawaiian teen who’d shocked the golf world with a U.S. Open berth. Perhaps the most shocking part was that the teen sensation wasn’t Michelle Wie, who in recent years has become America’s teen golf sweetheart. “She’s tall and attractive,” Fujikawa says of America’s fascination with Wie. “People like that. Also, she’s pretty good in golf,” he admits, laughing. “And she’s young. Everybody likes young, great people.”

Like Wie’s gender and age, it was Fujikawa’s height and age that initially made people doubt his abilities, branding him an underdog. And this year, it was Fujikawa who was going to the U.S. Open, not Wie. Wie, who is a year older (and almost a foot taller) than her fellow Hawaiian, failed to qualify.. Instead of competing in Hawaii’s sectional qualifier, she decided to play in the tougher Summit, N.J., qualifier — which was closer to the LPGA Championship she was entered in during the same time period.

So, with Wie not breaking any gender barriers at the Winged Foot Golf Club, golf fans turned their Cinderella soft spots to Fujikawa.

Taking it all in
“After the first person teed off, I just walked on the tee. They hadn’t announced my name yet, but everybody started cheering,” says Fujikawa, still incredulous. “I was overwhelmed. I didn’t know what to say.”

After failing to make the cut after the first 36 holes, Fujikawa hardly had a Cinderella finish, but he didn’t allow that to dampen his spirits. “The course was unbelievable, so tough,” he explains. “You can miss a shot by a few feet or a few yards, and it can really make a difference.”

Even more of a difference was how these professionals handled themselves compared to his usual competition. “I think that was the biggest difference between the amateurs and the professionals. The professionals can make a bad shot, and their next shot is great.”

Still, Fujikawa knows how special his time in New York was. “I think when I hit that first shot off the tee, it wasn’t a sigh of relief but a sigh of happiness,” he says. “I think knowing I was the youngest to play in the Open was unbelievable.”

Looking forward
Back in Hawaii, Fujikawa is once again playing with amateurs. And he is back to being a teenager. School takes up the majority of his days. “After that I go straight to golf practice,” he explains. “Practice usually ends at 6:30. Then, some days I do yoga and some days lift weights until about 7.”

He says right now all he has on his radar are the AJGA tournaments ahead. In October, he plans to enter The Ping Invitational in Oklahoma. In November, he heads to the Polo Golf Junior Classic in Georgia. During last year’s Polo Golf Junior Classic, Fujikawa was narrowly defeated by Jamie Lovemark. Going into this year’s tournament, though, Fujikawa may be the fan favorite.

It’s something it seems he will have to get used to. He’s even recently been fielding media requests from Japan. “I don’t know exactly why or if I am, but I’ve heard that I’m pretty big in Japan,” Fujikawa says. “Maybe it’s because I’m Japanese?”

Whether his ethnicity factors into his popularity is hard to say, but his ethnicity does seem to serve as another reason Fujikawa isn’t expected to do as well in golf. “On the women’s side of golf, there are a lot Asians,” he says, citing Wie and many other top female golfers. “It’s only going to get bigger and bigger. On the men’s side of golf, you don’t see too many. But if the women’s side gets bigger, then the men’s side will get bigger,” he predicts.

He plans to be a part of that growth. “You know, I really want to be a professional golfer,” he says. “I think that I always have that goal in mind, in whatever I do. I want to be a professional and be the best.”

And yes, Fujikawa hopes to make his way back to the U.S. Open some day — and shoot better than he did this year. “What will really help me is getting experience,” he says. Lucky for him, he’s got America rooting for him and he has plenty of time to improve those numbers.