Tadd Fujikawa turns pro

[AndrewM]

I was gonna bring up Ty... I was at ChampionsGate just after he had been the "phenom"... when he was there every day, riding up in his brand new Escalade with rims etc but couldnt make a cut... Its a sad story really.

tiger is the model that every single good young player should follow... Destroy the amateur ranks... win tournaments, BIG tournaments... take the professional exemptions you can get and learn from the experiences... go to college, get to know people, make friends... THEN turn pro and dominate.

So far it seems Tiger is the only true phenom that has followed through with the model... but it worked, and worked well...

Too much money on the table these days i guess.

Look at Dan Summerhays... wins the event as an amateur and turns pro... im sure he is kicking himself that he didnt turn pro before... but if he did, with all the added pressure of Needing to play well... would he have won?? I doubt it.

[Baynative]

That was great comment to read. You sound as though you have a bacakground in psychology or child development.

Anyway, I'm a bit put off by this announcement. It hit me as though he loved the attention he got at the Sony and has been longing for some more. Sadly, he'll get it now - even when he shoots 78.

He is 16 ferchrissakes and his parents should be telling him to cool his jets and have a go at the US Amateur and Match Play.

[Q.Q.Quillume]

Not a very good start to his pro golf career, Tadd shoots 78 (T-125) in the Reno-Tahoe Open and is 15 back after the 1st round. Not sure if it's worth mentioning that all the big guns are playing in another tournament (WGC-Bridgestone Inv.) this weekend.

[beantrac]

I wish him the best. If given the chance at 16 I would have done the same thing. If he feels confident and knows this is what he wants to do then more power to him. I don't think he will be a great player, but i think he will be able to hold his own once he gets more comfortable.

[Q.Q.Quillume]

It's six months after T.F. turned pro; how has he done, you ask?

According to www.golfchannel.com :

"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."

[neudi]

Ugh, too many kids turning pro too young, live life, you can only get better at golf unless he really needs the money which I doubt he does :(...

[Parker0065]

Ugh, too many kids turning pro too young, live life, you can only get better at golf unless he really needs the money which I doubt he does :(...

Actually I believe he or his parents made the comment at this years Sony Open that it was getting too expensive and they claim he had to go pro to help pay for his travel and tournaments. He does seem to have a good attitude about life in general. He doesn't come off anything like Michelle Wie at all. Maybe he will get lucky and make it but it appears like others that went too early, he's gonna struggle for a while!!!

[Shindig]

Actually I believe he or his parents made the comment at this years Sony Open that it was getting too expensive and they claim he had to go pro to help pay for his travel and tournaments.

Which bugs me slightly, because there are some limited sponsorships an amateur can get and remain an amateur. I don't mean a club company, but can't he get reimbursement for travel expenses etc? I would bet if he had put up a collection in some form he'd have found that money.

[Titleist916]

I think making the move to pro to help pay for the travel was a good idea, if his playing ability was better. He needs to take himself back to high school finish that and college before he contends with the big guys.

[Titleist916]

this is a cool article. fits the subject. http://www.golfdigest.com/golfworld/.../20080114sirak

[Titleist916]

this is a good article that goes with this thread. http://www.golfdigest.com/golfworld/.../20080114sirak

[Baynative]

Actually I believe he or his parents made the comment at this years Sony Open that it was getting too expensive and they claim he had to go pro to help pay for his travel and tournaments.

I heard that comment too and it changed my point of view. It seems he is somewhat of a disinterested student and he has no real interest in going to college.

His only ambition, at present, is to play pro golf and there are just not enough high caliber amateur events in Hawaii, so he chose going pro as a way to contract enough sponsor money to be able to travel and play competitive golf. Still, I would have urged him work on his grades and seek a college scholarship to get into a more competitive arena without having to foot the entire bill. Even with some sponsor money it seems like it will be very hard for him to live in Hawaii and travel to tournaments on the mainland and in Asia.

[Parker0065]

I heard that comment too and it changed my point of view. It seems he is somewhat of a disinterested student and he has no real interest in going to college.

Yes it didn't sound like college was ever an option and I agree that with him in Hawaii, he's going to have a hard time until he moves to the mainland. It's amazing how many teenagers are still turning Pro after the Michelle Wie disaster! I'm sure these kids, and thier parents are thinking "Well, It will be different for me". OK, Good luck with that,,,lol!!

[Plank]

He is to young to be turning pro. He has his whole live ahead of him and he isnnot an outstanding player.

[Titan124]

Two kids from my school played the Honda Classic pro-am on monday and were in a group with him. As a side note, the director paid the entrance fee for top high school players from the area with a lot of hype around them and intentionally put them with him, I guess to build up hype or something.

Anyways, they were shocked with how short he was, especially when he outdrove one of them(6'1) pretty consistently. That said, they weren't impressed. Everyone in the group was able to stay very close to him in score, and the two I know said he is not ready for the tour at all. I've also been hearing a lot about his great personality, but he is apparently very strange. His parents, himself, and his sponsors have tried to make him out to seem like a somewhat normal teenager- focusing on school, etc., but his life is devoted to golf. They said he was nice and everything, but he definitely wasn't a normal teenager socially. Based on what they told me, it doesn't sound like he needs the money at all, but he actually thinks he can compete. There is little to no way he can do this when he can barely squeak by junior golfers.

[golferman86]

cool, that's good for him, i;m looking forward to seeing him play.

[shredfit]

Yes it didn't sound like college was ever an option and I agree that with him in Hawaii, he's going to have a hard time until he moves to the mainland.

After Wie? Heck, in Wie's case, and I'm sure in other young phenomenons... it's about hype and $$$ and very little with how 'they' perform on the course.

We must NOT forget, last year Wie made $12.5 million with ONLY $9,899 coming from actual playing Pro competitive golf. Wie is laughing all the way to the Stanford student credit union... If a young phenomenon can/could bank even half of that coin... why on earth would they want to go to college?

[Baynative]

We must NOT forget, last year Wie made $12.5 million with ONLY $9,899 coming from actual playing Pro competitive golf. Wie is laughing all the way to the Stanford student credit union...

If a teenager can get a few hundred grand in endorsements and just put it in a fund and forget it they could go back to school, get on with their life and be very well set someday.