While he didn't break the record he was hoping for, Tadd Fujikawa's final round of even-par 72 yesterday was good enough to give him another Mid-Pacific Open record: largest margin of victory.

The 18-year-old pro defended his title and pocketed $14,000 with a 72-hole total of 12-under 276, finishing nine strokes ahead of runner-up David Ishii.

"It was tough out there today," said Fujikawa, citing the unusual Kona winds. "Ninety-five percent of the time when you play this course, you'll play with the tradewinds, so that made it a little different today."

The Moanalua High senior, who shot 69-66-69 in the first three rounds, could not match the feat yesterday, but tied three others for the lowest final round.

"I didn't play that well, but somehow I grinded it out and pulled out the win," he said.

Fujikawa began his final round with three pars before making birdie on the par-3, 162-yard fourth.

However, he bogeyed No. 6, another par-3, after his tee shot missed right of the green. His second shot — a chip from about 2 feet off the green — stopped well short and he two-putted.

On the par-4, 415-yard seventh hole, Fujikawa's tee shot again drifted right and into the rough. His second shot sailed over the green, but he appeared to put himself in good position to save par after a nicely played pitch left his ball about 3 feet from the cup. But he missed the par putt to the right.

Fujikawa ran into trouble on No. 9 after his second shot from about 90 yards rolled off the left edge of the green, crossed the cart path and found the rough. He hit a low pitch that bounced twice and came to a halt, leaving a 4-foot, uphill putt for par that he sank.

"That's one of the things I've really tried to work on is my short game, getting it up-and-down when you're not hitting it well," said Fujikawa, who made the turn at 1-over 37.

The short game came through for him several times on the back nine.

Fujikawa missed the fairway on No. 10, finding the rough along the right side. He laid up on his second shot and flopped his third onto the green before sinking a 5-footer for par.

On the par-3, 200-plus-yard 11th hole, Fujikawa again missed right of the green, but again saved par when he pitched to within 5 feet and sank the putt.

"He had a lot of good up-and-downs," said Ishii, the Hawai'i Hall of Famer who played in the final group with Fujikawa. "He hits the ball pretty long and his iron play is good, but I think the strongest thing about Tadd is his short game. Almost every pitch he has, it's the right distance and he gives himself a good chance to make the putt."

Fujikawa parred eight holes on the back side, with his lone birdie coming on the 473-yard par-5 16th when he reached in two and two-putted.

"I love this course and I love this tournament," said Fujikawa, who leaves tomorrow for the Chunichi Crowns Tournament in Nagoya, Japan.

Yesterday's scores were reflective of the traditionally tough Sunday pin placements.

Ishii's approach on the 13th hole took dead aim at the pin, landed within 8 feet of the hole, but slowly rolled off the green and into the second cut of rough, some 20 feet away.

"That's Mid-Pac. That last two days (of the tournament) the course gets tougher," Ishii said. "They like to make the greens quick and when you speed it up, the edges (of the green) run off so that makes it fun. We don't play golf courses like this. If you miss the green just a little bit it rolls all the way off and down the hill. This is really like a (PGA) Tour setup; it's Tour speed."

Ishii set the tournament record in 1986 when he shot 17-under 271, a record Fujikawa took aim at yesterday when he started the round at 12-under 204.

"That was my goal, but the course was tough and I wasn't playing that well, so I just wanted to do as well as I could," Fujikawa said. "The tournament record is pretty low and under these conditions — especially on the last day — it can be pretty tough ... so maybe in years to come."

Reach Kalani Takase at ktakase@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2404.

MID-PACIFIC OPEN

PROFESSIONAL/CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT

Tadd Fujikawa (P) 69-66-69-72—276.

David Ishii (P) 69-74-68-74—285.

Travis Toyama (P) 71-75-70-72—288.

Bradley Shigezawa* 73-72-70-75—290.

Christian Akau 72-69-72-77—290.

Brian Nosler (P) 75-73-72-72—292.

Andrew Feldman (P) 71-72-75-74—292.

Lorens Chan 71-74-72-75—292.

Joe Phengsavath (P) 75-74-69-75—293.

Matt Pakkala (P) 76-72-68-78—294.

Leland Lindsay (P) 70-79-70-75—294.

Casey Watabu (P) 73-73-73-75—294.

Alika Bell 74-72-71-77—294.

T.J. Kua 71-69-73-81—294.

Norman-Ganin Asao (P) 73-75-74-73—295.

Randal Gerell 74-70-73-78—295.

Brian Sasada (P) 75-76-73-72—296.

Ryan Acosta (P) 72-72-76-76—296.

Glenn Tamagawa (P) 73-74-75-75—297.

Beau Yokomoto (P) 71-77-72-77—297.

Ed Tischler (P) 72-75-72-78—297.

Michael Monoghan (P) 69-72-76-80—297.

Kevin Hayashi (P) 71-77-77-73—298.

Casey Nakama (P) 74-69-72-83—298.

Hiroyuki Naito (P) 74-74-73-78—299.

Hoyt McGarity (P) 74-74-78-73—299.

Ron Castillo Jr. (P) 77-72-71-79—299.

Nainoa Calip 75-69-80-79—303.

Alex Chu 72-80-73-79—304.

Paul Kimura 72-76-78-80—306.

Mike Kawate 76-77-72-81—306.

Brandan Kop 74-77-77-79—307.

Michael Fan 78-79-75-76—308.

A-FLIGHT

Kevin Teruya* 77-79-86-81—323.

Ron Ching 77-82-82-82—323.

Mike Nakata 80-83-80-82—325.

David Kochi 85-79-79-86—329.

David Cha 81-77-82-89—329.

Scotty Yamashita 83-80-86-82—331.

Rocky Reed 82-81-83-85—331.

Paul Glen 86-82-83-81—332.

Roy Nishimoto 82-83-85-82—332.

Vincent Yim 79-77-86-91—333.

B-FLIGHT

Joshua Mau 79-85-79-84—327.

Steve Blancarte 88-80-76-84—328.

Keith Komatsubara 79-88-86-82—335.

Ronald Shima 86-81-87-83—337.

Allan Kuaana 84-85-83-85—337.

Philip Delisi 83-86-87-82—338.

Fred Denault 85-86-80-88—339.

*won playoff.