Happy New Year!

May 2009 be a happy year for all golfers and especially a happier one for Michelle Wie and Tadd Fujikawa, two talented teens looking forward to making a comeback after not being among the biggest newsmakers in local golf last year. Gee, it seems as though 2008 was only yesterday. And, it's hard to imagine a teenager having to make a comeback.

Wie and Fujikawa, who captured our imagination and interest with their precocious golfing skills, both hope that 2009 will be a breakout year for them.

Wie leaped into the new year by earning her 2009 LPGA playing card in Q-School last month and can make a sensational debut as a member of the women's tour by winning the season-opening SBS Open at Turtle Bay next month. It's at the Palmer Course, which she knows well, having won the local qualifier there for the 2006 U.S. Open. That's the men's U.S. Open.

Although she hasn't officially committed to the SBS Open as yet, Wie told Advertiser staff writer Ann Miller that she'll "probably play." Knowing Wie, that's as good as a yes.

Wie is back at Stanford and most likely will skip the spring term — as she did last year — to concentrate on playing in as many LPGA events as the schedule allows. Counting the summer schedule, she could probably play around 16 events, giving her a good opportunity to retain her exempt status by either winning a tournament or finishing among the top 80 money leaders.

So 2009 can be a big year, not only for Wie, but the LPGA Tour, which also needs her to do well. Wie, 19, is still the most recognized young female golfer despite not winning an LPGA event and one who can move the PR needle, especially if she starts winning. And, as an Asian-American, she can be a marketing tool for the LPGA Tour as it continues its world-encompassing focus, especially in Asia.

Unlike Wie, Fujikawa will continue to rely on sponsor's exemptions to get into tournaments again in 2009. Since turning professional, the Moanalua High School senior won the Mid-Pacific Open but has yet to make a cut in a PGA, Japan or European event.

"It was a little discouraging, not playing well. Frustrating, not making cuts," said Fujikawa, who turns 18 next Thursday. "It's tough when you're not playing every week. It's hard to get in a tournament mode. But I need to be patient."

Still, he said, playing in those events around the world proved an invaluable learning experience, which he hopes to put to good use this year.

"Unbelievable," he said. "I'm glad I played in a lot of tournaments, but I want to play on the PGA Tour. You get spoiled."

Fujikawa didn't get a sponsor's exemption to the Sony Open in Hawai'i, but hopes to earn a spot in the Monday qualifying for the tour's first full-field event Jan. 15 to 18 at the Waialae Country Club. It was there that he shocked the golf world in 2007 by being the youngest golfer in 50 years to make the cut in a PGA Tour event.

Which brings us to Lorens Chan, the local golfer to keep an eye on this year. The 14-year-old 'Iolani School freshman has the opportunity to become the youngest player ever to make the cut in a PGA Tour if he gets to play the weekend in the upcoming Sony Open. Chan gained the lone amateur exempt spot by winning in a playoff with two Manoa Cup champions, Alex Ching and Travis Toyama, Monday at Waialae after they each shot 5-under-par 67s.

You can bet that Chan, who lost out to Ching after a playoff for the Sony Open spot last year, will be out practicing as often as he can at Waialae Country Club, where his parents, Richard and Linda Chan, are members.

Before he won the playoff, Chan said he was looking forward to finally playing for 'Iolani's golf team this spring. Now, he finds himself playing in a PGA Tour event even before he plays his first high school tournament.

"It's weird. I'm only 14. It usually comes after the other," said Chan, who is awed by the opportunity to be inside the ropes with the touring pros. And, yes, people have already told him he could make golf history by being the youngest ever to make the cut, he said.

"Golf is just a game but I'll probably be a little nervous because you don't want to screw up," Chan added. But he feels playing at his home course will help him feel a little more comfortable considering all of the pressure. Chan said he'll heed Ching's advice of just enjoying the experience.

"Lorens is a great player. He's going to tear it up at the Sony," said Ching, who plans to defend his Manoa Cup title when he returns for the summer after completing his first year playing for the University of San Diego golf team.

While Wie, Fujikawa and Chan await their turns to start making headlines, the immediate attention will be on Parker McLachlin, who can't wait to get the year started in the Mercedes-Benz Championship at Kapalua's Plantation Course next Thursday in the PGA Tour's season opener. McLachlin, the other notable Punahou School alum now vacationing and golfing in the Islands, earned his first trip to the winners-only Mercedes event by posting his first PGA victory in the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open.

"I think it's going to be a good year for me," said McLachlin as he headed out for a practice round at Waialae the other day. He hopes to improve on his 2008 showing when he earned $1.3 million to finish 84th on the money list in joining fellow Hawai'i golfer Dean Wilson ($1.35 million) among the 104 players who pocketed more than $1 million this past season.

Although Hawai'i lost two professional tournaments — the LPGA Fields Open in Hawai'i at Ko Olina and the Champions Tour's Turtle Bay Championship — look for 2009 to be a headline-making year in local golf.

Besides Chan, another youngster to keep tabs on this year is Cyd Okino, a Punahou sophomore. Although she has won three straight state women's titles, Okino hopes for a breakout year nationally. She'll start her year by playing against the men in the Hawai'i Pearl Open next month.

Bill Kwon can be reached at bill kwonrhs@aol.com.