The rain was gone. The wind reduced to a whisper.

But Tadd Fujikawa rode a near-perfect storm to the top of the leaderboard yesterday.

Buoyed by a gallery that swelled throughout the morning, the Moanalua High School senior was both steady and spectacular on his way to a remarkable 8-under 62 that sent him into the clubhouse tied for the lead at the Sony Open in Hawaii.

Even after playing the best round of his young career in his first weekend appearance as a professional, there was still room for some “;what if”; reflections.

“;I hit a lot of good putts and honestly it could have been a 59,”; Fujikawa said. “;I had three lip-outs, but I'll take a 62 any day.”;

Fujikawa, 18, finished his third round before the lead groups teed off and enters today's final round at Waialae Country Club tied for sixth place, two strokes behind leader Zach Johnson. He'll be paired with Nathan Green at 12:52 p.m.

About 3 hours and 45 minutes after sharing a Vitamin Water toast with caddy Shakil Ahmed at the first tee, Fujikawa signed his card for a round that came up one stroke shy of the record for Waialae Country Club's current par-70 layout, a 61 carded by David Toms in 2006.

After surviving a Monday qualifier and flirting with the cut line for most of Friday afternoon, Fujikawa vaulted into contention entering his second Sunday appearance at the Sony Open.

“;I think two years ago, I was just out there having fun,”; Fujikawa said in comparing yesterday's experience to his 2007 breakthrough at Waialae, when he became the youngest player in 50 years to make a cut at a PGA event.

“;But this year I'm out there to win. And I know I can do it.”;

Fujikawa made birdie on his final hole on Friday to make the cut at even par and arrived for his 9:15 a.m. tee time with Matthew Borchert with a sense of ease after qualifying for the weekend.

His excitable nature emerged three strokes later when he punctuated his birdie on No. 1 with what has become a signature fist pump as his 13-foot putt dropped into the center of the cup to start a run of three birdies that set the tone for the day.

He carded five birdies on the front nine, and four more on the back—including both par 3s—to post 31s on both sides.

Fujikawa, who said he didn't have a good session on the practice range prior to the round, consistently created birdie opportunities by finding the fairway on nine of 14 drives and hitting 14 greens in regulation.

“;(Friday) and the day before was just kind of play it safe and just make the cut,”; Fujikawa said, “;and then today, I went out there and attacked.”;

After his three birdies to start, his first shot on the par-3 fourth found the bunker short of the green to set up his lone bogey. He came back with a par on No. 5, then hit a 9-iron to within 15 feet on No. 6 and sunk a downhill birdie putt.

“;When he made three in a row I figured he's seeing nothing but flag sticks,”; Borchert said. “;Then the bogey kind of tripped him up. After the shot he hit on five, I figured he's not afraid, he went right after it.”;

Fujikawa credited Ahmed for keeping him focused as the red numbers grew along with the crowd trailing him around the course.

“;It was tough,”; Fujikawa said of staying in the moment. “;Knowing that you birdied the first three holes, you don't want to let it go.”;

Instead, he built on the momentum, chipping in from the fringe on the par-3 11th hole to cap another run of three birdies. His putter then cooled off ever so slightly over a string of five straight pars.

He then stuck a 4-iron to within 7 feet on the 17th to set up another birdie. His tee shot on the par-5 18th caught a tree limb but left him with a favorable lie in a fairway bunker. He then fired a 3-wood to within about 57 feet of the hole. After tipping his cap to the gallery on his walk up the fairway, Fujikawa's eagle putt stayed high and he ended the round with a tap-in for his ninth birdie.

“;The first day I putted well, didn't hit the ball too well. The second day I putted bad, hit the ball better. Today it kind of came together,”; Fujikawa said. “;Hopefully I'll keep it together for tomorrow.”;