Fujikawa in lead in eGolf championship
Honolulu’s Tadd Fujikawa eagled his third hole on the way to shooting a 7-under-par 65 in yesterday’s opening round of the eGolf Tour’s Tour Championship. Fujikawa is tied for first with Lee Williams of Alabama.
The tournament brings eGolf’s top 50 players to Spring Creek Golf Club in Gordonsville, Va. It ends Saturday, with first place worth $25,000 and the top 20 on the money list getting their PGA Tour Q-School entry paid by eGolf. Fujikawa is 16th on the money list, with earnings of $38,348.
He played the back nine first and made the turn in 33.
"I hit two good shots on 12 and made a good putt," he said. "After that, I started getting the speed of the greens down. I was more confident on my putts after that."
He birdied his 11th hole to go 4-under, then birdied three of the last four.
Fujikawa has made the cut in nine of the 12 tournaments he’s entered, almost doubling his yearly experience in terms of rounds played.
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Isagawa tied for second
Wailuku’s Cassy Isagawa pulled into a tie for second in yesterday’s second round of the 35th Junior PGA Championship in Fort Wayne, Ind.
The state high school champion from Baldwin fired her second straight 72 and is two shots back.
Honolulu’s Cyd Okino (86–162) and Haiku’s Justin Keiley (75–153) missed the cut.
The champion and runner-up earn exempt berths on the 2010 U.S. Junior Ryder Cup team.
At the Adams Junior Tour Championship in East Lansing, Mich., Kihei’s Andre Bedard finished in a tie for ninth after shooting 77–151. He was five shots out of first in the Boys 15-19 division. Wailuku’s Dan Kendrick-Dumo (80–158) tied for 17th, while Kailua’s Mark Uekawa (78–161) finished 16th in Boys 13-14s.
Match-play rematch?
James Madison University junior Nicole Sakamoto and 12-year-old Mariel Galdiano might see each other again next week when they play in the Hawaii State Women’s Golf Association Match Play Championship at Oahu Country Club.
The tournament has expanded to include two flights this year. Top qualifiers compete in the championship flight without handicap. The rest of the field competes in A flight, with handicap.
Allisen Corpuz won the title last year at age 11. She will not defend because she is on the mainland for two junior events.
That leaves Sakamoto and Galdiano, who finished 1-2 at last week’s Hawaii State Women’s Amateur Stroke Play Championship, along with two-time champ Keiki Dawn Izumi and the University of Hawaii’s Kaili Britos, who was WAC freshman of the year last season.
Golfers tee off at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday in the qualifying round. The first round is that afternoon, with semifinals starting at 8 a.m. Thursday and Friday’s finals beginning at 7 a.m.