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Tadd takes his best shot


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POSTED: Sunday, January 18, 2009

When Tadd Fujikawa wakes up today, he can think about becoming the youngest player ever to win a PGA Tour event and the first since Fred Wadsworth at the 1986 Southern Open to go from Monday qualifier to the check presentation.

               

     

 

LEADERBOARD

       

       

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

             

             

               

             

             

               

               

               

             

             

               

               

               

             

             

               

               

               

             

             

               

               

               

             

         

       

Through third round:
Zach Johnson200-10
David Toms201-9
Shigeki Maruyama201-9
Brian Gay201-9
Nathan Green201-9

 

               

Notables
Tadd Fujikawa202-8
Boo Weekley202-8
Geoff Ogilvy203-7
K.J. Choi207-3

       

       

       

Or he can think about landing his drive at No. 1 in the fairway and go from there.

Knowing Fujikawa and caddie Shakil Ahmed, making sure that opening salvo off the tee lands in the short grass will be his first order of business in today's final round of the Sony Open in Hawaii.

No matter how many times Fujikawa tried to get ahead of himself during yesterday's 8-under 62 that had the crowd roaring on seemingly every green, Ahmed was there to remind the Moanalua High senior that focus wins championships, not blowing kisses to all the aunties.

The 18-year-old begins the day only two shots removed from Zach Johnson's 10-under 200 lead, but will have loads of company in the 18-hole chase. There are 24 golfers within five shots of the lead established by Johnson (66), who continues to play well since shooting a 15-under 131 last weekend in the final two rounds of the Mercedes-Benz Championship.

The winner of the Masters in 2007, Johnson is shooting as well as anyone and will take into the final round a one-shot advantage over 2006 Sony Open champion David Toms (65), Shigeki Maruyama (68), Brian Gay (68) and Nathan Green (69), and a two-shot edge over Fujikawa, George McNeill (65), Boo Weekley (67) and Charles Howell III (67).

All of those golfers believe they have an opportunity to win the first full-field event of 2009 as do those at 7-under 203, which includes Mercedes-Benz champion Geoff Ogilvy and fellow Aussie Adam Scott. With that many golfers at the top of the stretch, Johnson isn't comfortable with his slim advantage.

“;Not out here—one errant shot can be a matter of a two- or three-shot swing,”; Johnson said. “;I think that's the beauty of this course. It doesn't surprise me it's congested, and the guy who sticks to his own and makes some putts is probably going to come out on top.

“;I anticipated playing well over here. Anticipation vs. expectation I think is a little bit different. I anticipated hitting it solidly. I anticipated hitting quality shots, and hopefully scoring, and my short game has come along nicely.”;

Toms' game is coming along nicely as well. Not having the advantage of playing last week as Johnson did, the 2006 Sony Open champion has gotten better each day after opening with a 70 on Thursday. His 65 was the second-best round after Fujikawa's 62 and his familiarity of playing in the tradewinds today might be the difference as they thunder for home.

“;I mean, anybody can win,”; Toms said. “;We're supposed to have tradewinds, so the golf course is back to playing the conditions that most guys have seen many, many times here. There will be some guys who have a lot of experience, I guess, on this golf course with that type of wind blowing. So, I'm sure somebody will go out and shoot a low one. I hope it's me.”;

Fujikawa will have to battle the knowledge that back-to-back 62s don't come by too often. If he wants to contend, he'll have to settle with something in the mid-60s and hope that will be good enough in this tightly packed field.

“;I guess today's round was half me and half him,”; Fujikawa said of Ahmed, who knows this course well. “;He really helped me stay focused and commit to every shot I hit. He gave me a lot of good reads today on the putts and gave me a lot of good distances.”;

Now, if this twosome puts it together again today, maybe Fujikawa can become the youngest player ever to win a tour event and the first since 1986 to go from qualifier to champion. But it starts at No. 1.