The Daily Wrap-up, Round 3: Sony Open in Hawaii

text size

Condon/Getty Images

Zach Johnson will take a one-shot lead into the final round of the Sony Open in Hawaii.

HONOLULU (AP) -- Tadd Fujikawa returned to the putting green late Saturday afternoon, hours after his 8-under 62 put his name atop the leaderboard at the Sony Open and showed everyone he was serious about becoming the PGA TOUR's youngest winner ever.

RELATED LINKS

Leaderboard: Round 3 scores
Round 4 Tee Times
Scorecard: Zach Johnson
Scorecard: Tadd Fujikawa
The Live Report: Round 3
Ross: Fujikawa's confidence soars
Anticipation reality for Johnson
Photos: Images from Round 3
Podcast: Round 3
Notebook: Tidbits from the course

VIDEO

Highlights of Fujikawa's 62
Round 3 highlights
Howell reaches 18 in two
PGA TOUR Today

With the sun setting behind him, Fujikawa's shadow stretched across the green.

At 5-foot-1, he never felt bigger.

Fujikawa made birdies on half of his holes for the best round of his life, pulling him within two shots of former Masters champion Zach Johnson and giving golf its biggest buzz since the Ryder Cup.

Johnson had a bogey-free 66 for the lead, but it's so crowded at the top that a dozen players were separated by three shots, giving just about everyone a chance to win -- even an 18-year-old senior in high school.

"Two years ago, I just went out there to have fun," said Fujikawa, who tied for 20th as a 16-year-old amateur. "This year, I'm out there to win, and I know I can do it."

Maybe the kid isn't kidding.

To read the remainder of this story, click here.

CONFIDENCE HIGH, FUJIKAWA FIRES CAREER LOW
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents

HONOLULU -- When Tadd Fujikawa made birdies on his first three holes at Waialae Country Club on Saturday, he had a very natural reaction.

"Don't blow it," the precocious teenager remembers telling himself. And Fujikawa didn't -- firing a career-low 62 that put him in a tie for the lead at 8 under in the Sony Open in Hawaii.

Of course, the leaders were still 45 minutes from hitting their first tee shots when Fujikawa finished. But that didn't matter to the thousands of fans who lined the fairways two and three deep to see Hawaii's favorite son on this sensational sunlit afternoon.

And the diminutive 18-year-old pro didn't disappoint less than 24 hours after making his first cut on the PGA TOUR. Two years ago on the same course, Fujikawa, born three months prematurely and weighing just 31 ounces at birth, had become the youngest in 50 years to play the weekend on TOUR.

To read the remainder of this story, click here

Saturday's Best

EASIEST HOLE TOUGHEST HOLE The par-5 ninth was the easiest hole with a Saturday scoring average of 4.231. EAGLES: 7 BIRDIES: 47 PARS: 23 BOGEYS: 1 OTHERS: 0 The par-4 13th was the toughest hole with a Saturday scoring average of 4.167. EAGLES: 0 BIRDIES: 5 PARS: 55 BOGEYS: 18 OTHERS: 0

SHOT OF THE DAY ROUND OF THE DAY Charles Howell III reached the par-5 18th in two, setting up an easy two-putt birdie that moved him to 8 under for the tournament. Watch his shot Tadd Fujikawa had the best round of the day with an 8-under 62 that featured nine birdies and just one bogey to move the 18-year-old Hawaiian into contention. Check out his scorecard

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Two years ago, I was just out there having fun. And it was a great experience and I ended up playing extremely well. But this year, I'm out there to win. And I know I can do it." -- Tadd Fujikawa on the differences between playing in the Sony Open in Hawaii as an amateur two years ago and now.

INSIDE THE ROPES WITH THE PGA TOUR NETWORK
PGA TOUR Network correspondent Fred Albers offers these observations from Saturday's action. Listen to PGA TOUR Live coverage on XM 146/SIRIUS 209 or right here at PGATOUR.com.

Shigeki Maruyama is one shot off the lead heading into the final round of the Sony Open and he can say a big "arigatou" to his bunker game. Maruyama is 7 for 7 in green side bunker saves this week.

Brian Gay led the PGA TOUR in scrambling pars last season and demonstrated his ability on Waialae Country Club. He missed the first five greens to begin his back 9 and yet played those five holes in just one over par, scrambling successfully four times. That held Gay's round together as he finished 9 under for the tournament and one off the lead.

Hold the phone. Zach Johnson was just about the putt for eagle on the ninth green when a spectator's cell phone rang. Johnson shot an evil stare at the offending fan then readdressed the ball, missing his eagle putt but making birdie. The offending fan was escorted off the grounds. Cell phones are strictly prohibited at PGA TOUR events.

What the top finishers said...

Player Position Score Comment Zach Johnson 1st 10 under "One errant shot can be a matter of a two- or three-shot swing. I think that's the beauty of this course. It doesn't surprise me it's congested, and the guy that sticks to his own and makes some putts tomorrow is probably going to come out on top." David Toms T2 9 under "Anybody can win. There was a 62 out there today. We're supposed to have tradewinds tomorrow. So the golf course is back to playing the conditions that most guys have seen many, many times here." Shigeki Maruyama T2 9 under "There are a lot of Japanese tourists here. Boy, you walk downtown, it's like Japan. So it's like my second home here." Brian Gay T2 9 under "The hardest part about today was it was a completely new golf course for us. We have not had this wind all week and it's been that Kona wind all week, so it was a whole new deal out there today." Nathan Green T2 9 under "I struggled with the putting all day today. I don't think I spent much time on that blue line that they put on TV."

Read full interview transcripts

Zach Johnson David Toms Shigeki Maruyama Brian Gay Nathan Green Full archive

Live Essentials

Follow every shot with our newest application The only place on the Internet for real-time live scoring Listen to expert commentary on the PGA TOUR Network News, notes, stats and analysis during each round

THIRD-ROUND NOTEBOOK: SONY OPEN IN HAWAII
By Doug Milne, PGA TOUR STAFF

HONOLULU -- After successfully Monday Qualifying and making the cut to earn a spot in the field of the 2009 Sony Open in Hawaii, 18-year-old Tadd Fujikawa achieved his greatest feat of the week by firing an 8-under 62 in Round 3 of the Sony Open in Hawaii on Saturday.

• Should Fujikawa go on to win, he would become the first Monday Qualifier to do so since Fred Wadsworth achieved the feat at the 1986 Southern Open.

• Johnny McDermott is on record as being the youngest winner ever on the PGA TOUR. In 1911, McDermott won the U.S. Open at the age of 19 years, 11 months.

• Fujikawa's previous best score in a competitive round was a 7-under 65. His 8-under 62 in Round 3 is one stroke shy of the Waialae Country Club course record set by David Toms, who fired a third-round 61 in 2006. The tournament record belongs to Davis Love III, who shot a second-round 60 in 1994 when the tournament was played at Wailalae.

To read the remainder of this story, click here.