HONOLULU -- A teenager from Hawaii made it to the U.S. Open, just not
Tadd Fujikawa, a 15-year-old who just completed his first year at Moanalua High School, beat out nine other players in the smallest U.S. Open sectional qualifier to earn a trip to Winged Foot next week.
"Maybe in my wildest dreams I thought about it," Fujikawa said.
Fujikawa missed by one year becoming the youngest player to qualify for
the U.S. Open.
All the attention on Monday was on 16-year-old Wie, who was trying to become the first woman to qualify for the U.S. Open.
Wie beat Fujikawa in the 18-hole local qualifying round last month at Turtle Bay, but opted to go through sectional qualifying in New Jersey because she is playing the LPGA Championship this week near Baltimore, about three hours away.
Fujikawa advanced through Hawaii qualifying on Monday with rounds of 71-70 to secure the only berth.
Lori Fujikawa said her son didn't start getting serious about golf until four years ago when he began taking lessons. He was previously into judo. Despite being just over 5 feet, the teen averages about 285 yards off the tee.
Fujikawa said he doesn't know what to expect, but he likes the idea of being inside the ropes with the best players in the world.
"I don't really have a favorite player, but of course it will be pretty cool to be in the same tournament as Tiger Woods ," he said.
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