It is hard to imagine anyone as ebullient as Tadd Fujikawa on a golf course. But if any golfers come close, it should be those on the Champions Tour, who open their season this morning in the MasterCard Championship at Hualalai.

If they had been born 28 years earlier there would not have been a senior tour. If they had turned 50 when Fujikawa was born in 1991, they would have been playing for $19 million instead of three times that much.

The 41 golfers who qualified for this elite season-opening field might be in the twilight of their competitive golf life — though one hesitates to say that when Gary Player, 71, is still shooting his age — but the sunset view is spectacular. The money is mind-boggling relative to every tour but the PGA, there are no cuts, and they play courses like the divot-free Hualalai Golf Club on a regular basis.

"It's still very, very competitive," said Loren Roberts, who won Hualalai and the Turtle Bay Championship last year. "However, it just seems ... we still say let's go have beer after the round. It's competitive but fun. Most guys here have been there and done that. Now it's time to have fun."

Which is precisely what the seniors saw from Fujikawa last week at the Sony Open in Hawai'i. The Moanalua sophomore became the youngest to make a PGA Tour cut in 50 years and reveled in every historic, adoring moment. The pros could not keep their eyes off him.

"I think he's fantastic for the game and for Hawai'i," Scott Simpson said. "How can you not root for him? I just loved watching him (on television). He's got a great swing and a beautiful putting stroke. But the main thing is that he's having fun."

Roberts came up to Simpson — a former Kailua resident — at Hualalai and asked his friend, "What are they feeding these kids in Hawai'i?" It is a legitimate question after the huge strides Hawai'i golfers have made the past few years.

Roberts characterizes it as a "world-class program" with Fujikawa now the smiling standard bearer. He saw poise and talent to burn, but what struck him most was Fujikawa's genuine, fun-loving demeanor.

"That's why he connected with everybody last week, because it looked like he was having fun, it was not a business," Roberts said. "That's why he played so well, because it was fun. He will continue to improve obviously, but I'd tell him to make sure and have fun and not to make it a business at 16."

Hawai'i's David Ishii, the 1990 Hawaiian Open champion, knows Fujikawa well enough to know that won't be a problem.

"He's going to be more recognizable. He was on TV a lot," Ishii said. "I don't think he'll change, but the people around him will change. People will be hounding him like they hounded Michelle Wie. But he's a good, level kid, a nice kid. He'll keep working hard."

Ishii, who will play in next week's Turtle Bay Championship, has seen Fujikawa play well everywhere, but considered last week his finest moment because "he beat all the Hawai'i guys this time."

Ishii doesn't see a weakness in the 16-year-old's game. Roberts didn't feel like he saw enough to offer a technical critique, but found Fujikawa's attitude remarkable.

"The mere fact he wasn't concerned about the magnitude of it all (making the cut) Friday is what stuck in my mind," Roberts said. "He bogeyed 15 and came right back with birdie at 16, and the eagle at 18 went way beyond. What impressed me was that he was not worried about the gravity of the situation. He just went ahead and played his game. Ultimately, that could be his strength."

Roberts opened his first full senior season last year with a flourish. He became the first in Champions Tour history to win the first three tournaments and was only out of contention twice all year. He goes into 2007 with a streak of 14 sub-par rounds and if the weather doesn't go crazy it would be hard to imagine that streak ending at Hualalai.

Last year Roberts torched this course, breaking tour records for birdies (26) and score (25-under par). He closed with a career-low 11-under 61. It might not be enough this time.

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.