Despite some struggles, Fujikawa enjoys his first round at Waialae

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HONOLULU -- Still smiling, still waving to fans, still feeling the waves of support even as his game was floundering, Tadd Fujikawa continued to enjoy his time in the Sony Open in Hawaii even as his scorecard was a disappointment.

Tadd Fujikawa couldn't summon his scoring magic on Thursday. (Badz/PGA TOUR/WireImage)

The diminutive youngster with the huge heart and wide smile fought through early struggles to post a 4-over-par 74 in Thursday's opening round at Waialae Country Club, and now will need close to his career low on the familiar layout -- a 65 -- to make the cut for the second year in a row.

The performance was a far cry from last January when Fujikawa, then barely 16 and an amateur, became the second-youngest player in PGA TOUR history to make a cut. He went on to shoot consecutive 66s in the second and third rounds on the way to a magical tie for 20th place with a 5-under 275 aggregate score.

"It was still fun. I really enjoyed it even if I didn't play as well as I wanted to," said Fujikawa, a junior at Moanalua High School who turned professional last summer. "There was so much support for me out there that it still felt very special."

Unlike a year ago, though, Fujikawa couldn't summon the scoring to keep his momentum going or get the crowd further inspired. He found himself 4 over par after six holes and was as many as 6 over par at one point. Birdies at 12, 14 and 17 eased some of the sting. He converted putts of one, three and seven feet as he got his iron game untracked coming home.

After signing his card, he still had smiles for fans and time for the media.

"I got caught up in taking it maybe a bit too seriously," Fujikawa said of the start of his round. "I was trying to hit every shot perfect instead of just playing, and that really made things tough early. I finally settled down and hit some better shots coming in, but I need to work on a few things."

Fujikawa said he better understands the pressure that Michelle Wie felt in her second appearance in the Sony Open in 2005 after nearly making the cut the year prior. "It's definitely harder when there are expectations, and especially when you have expectations for yourself," he said. "All you can do is try the best you can."