Tadd Fujikawa had all but assured himself a weekend paycheck by the time he placed his ball on the green for his final putt on Friday.

What followed was just the latest entry on his list of magical moments at Waialae Country Club.

Seeming clear of the cut line and safely on the green on Waialae’s par-5 ninth hole, Fujikawa lined up a downhill putt about 33 feet from the cup.

As he followed through on his stroke, the ball rolled down the slope, slowed, then disappeared.

The eagle, punctuated with a Fujikawa fist-pump, capped a round of 4-under-par 66 that propelled the Moanalua graduate into the Sony Open in Hawaii’s weekend rounds at 5 under.

"It was kind of far and I wasn’t really trying to make it, to be honest," said Fujikawa, who went into the clubhouse tied for 11th (he ended the day tied for 17th). "I was trying to lag it up there, make my birdie and walk out of there. I hit a good putt and just so happened it went in."

Earlier in the week, Fujikawa lamented the chances that slipped away in the Monday qualifier at Turtle Bay after birdie putts on the final three holes slid by and he missed a playoff by one stroke.

After being granted a sponsor’s exemption, he took full advantage of his newfound opportunity by opening the tournament with a 69 on Thursday and following with a round he ranked second in his already storied Sony Open scrapbook, trailing only the electric 62 he shot in the third round in 2009.

"You’re going to miss some, you’re going to make some, just kind of take it as it goes," Fujikawa said of the turn in fortune since Monday’s round. "I just tried to stay positive today and just have fun and relax, because I know I can play out here. Just go out there and play my game."

Fujikawa began Friday morning on No. 10 and moved to 2 under by draining a birdie putt from nearly 30 feet away on the par-3 11th hole.

He gave it back with a bogey on the 13th and spent the rest of his first nine perilously close to the cut line.

Fujikawa made the turn coming off a three-putt par on the par-5 18th, which could have loomed as another squandered opportunity had he faltered on the front side.

Instead, his game sharpened from there.

"I told myself I hit two good shots to get there and two pretty good putts," Fujikawa said of his turn on the 18th green. "I just told myself to keep hitting good putts and keep hitting my lines and sooner or later they’ll drop."

He stuck his second shot on No. 2 to 2 feet to set up a birdie, and dropped a 12-foot putt on No. 3 to move to 3 under overall.

He bogeyed the next hole, but stayed steady over the next three to set up his stirring finish.

On No. 8, Fujikawa hit a 9-iron to within 3 feet for his fourth birdie of the round. He hit his drive on No. 9 to the left side of the fairway and asked caddie Shakil Ahmed for a 5-iron.

"I was in between my 5-iron and 6-iron and I decided to hit five just make sure I get it on the green and give myself a putt for eagle," Fujikawa said.

The ball’s descent into the hole provided a charge in the surrounding gallery and a moment to savor for Fujikawa after struggling through a trying 2011 season.

"I told myself at the beginning of this year, this is a whole new year," he said. "Things can change really quickly."

Fujikawa tees off at 11:33 a.m. today off the first tee.