For the first time in Richard Hattori’s golf life, many, many eyes will be on him in January. That’s what happens when you are a Hawaii junior golfer and you qualify for the first full-field event of the PGA Tour season.
Hattori captured the amateur slot for the Sony Open in Hawaii Monday in a shoot-out with his Governor’s Cup amateur teammates. The Kalani senior shot 1-under-par 71, then outlasted Todd Rego and Jared Sawada in a playoff to follow in the high school Foot-Joy steps of guys like Lorens Chan, John Oda and Tadd Fujikawa.
All qualified for Sony by making the Governor’s Cup team and winning the one-day qualifier. Fujikawa took it a few steps farther when he made the Sony cut in 2007 and tied for 20th. Two years later, as an 18-year-old pro, he shot 62 on Saturday and went into the final round at Waialae Country Club two shots out of first.
Fujikawa, grinning and fist-pumping, thrived in front of the galleries and TV cameras. Hattori has never seen anything like it.
"Richard might be the same or he might be different …," said David Ishii, Hattori’s coach who won the 1990 Hawaiian Open at Waialae. "This will be the learning part of golf. You cannot tell a guy what to do. He’s got to go through it. You just tell him do your best, go through your routines. You can say all that, but until you get into that Sony week you don’t know what it’s like. He’s got to see and learn from each experience."
Hattori’s experience is vast for a junior, as it is for lots of Hawaii kids now. He started in Casey Nakama’s program eight years ago and has played many Hawaii State Junior Golf Association and USGA events. He qualified for Hawaii Pearl Open at 15.
Two months ago his parents, who are from Japan, sent him to the four-stage Japan Golf Tour qualifier. Hattori got to the second stage before being stymied.
"It was harder than I thought," Hattori said. "They are pros so they are really good. There were like 300 there and only three of us were amateurs so I was pretty nervous the first day."
Whether that helps or hurts when he tees it up in front of a few thousand at Waialae won’t be known until Jan. 10. Ishii wants him to focus outward.
"It’s all new to him and exciting so everybody reacts differently," Ishii said. "To some it’s no big deal. To some it’s a real big deal.
"For young guys, I tell them don’t worry so much about playing good, just learn from the experience. What do you notice? Watch other players. You’re not going to win the tournament so it’s a thing they can learn from and set their goals. … When you see it in person it’s different. When you’re playing with them you learn a lot."
Hattori got up and down for par four times out of Waialae’s deep bunkers Monday so he already has confidence in that part of his game. For the next seven weeks he plans to work overtime on putting and "not think too much."
"I just want to have fun and play my game," Hattori said. "I don’t even want to think about score. If I hit the ball straight and putt good I’m fine with that."
Just watch out if he starts pumping his fist.
