No Tiger, Phil, Sergio and Padraig.

No Anthony Kim and Camilo Villegas, the young guns who played Mercedes only to high-tail it out of town right after. And only seven of the world's top 20 golfers in the field.

A ho-hum Sony Open in Hawai'i, right?

Wrong.

There's a buzz at Waialae Country Club and once again it's being generated by Tadd Fujikawa, who's shocking the golf world just as he did two years ago when he became the youngest player in 50 years to make the cut in a PGA Tour event.

This time Fujikawa, the 18-year-old whiz kid, did it by shooting an incredible 8-under-par 62 to vault 44 places for a three-way tie for sixth on the leaderboard, only two shots back of leader Zach Johnson.

If you thought the crowds were huge yesterday, wait till today. "It was Michelle-like," said someone, referring to the huge gallery that followed Michelle Wie in the 2006 Sony Open.

"If you wrote a script that he had to qualify to get into the tournament, make the cut and shoot a 62, one off the tournament record, no one would believe it," said Mike Dyer, senior consultant for Sony Corp. "It's just an amazing story."

There's still the rest of the story left untold. But one shudders to think that there might not have been a story at all if Fujikawa had missed a putt or two in the Monday qualifier or the first two rounds that were played in brutal weather to barely make the cut.

The Sony Open came close in not having Fujikawa and in not being the biggest news in golf this week.

I don't blame Dyer if he doesn't even want to think about the what-ifs. He's on the Sony committee deciding who gets sponsor's exemptions. And it was a difficult decision, he said, in not extending one to Fujikawa, especially after his showing two years ago.

"The process is always a very difficult decision and very complicated with restricted and unrestricted exemptions," Dyer said. "You only have a limited number and you have to make tough decisions. You try to do the best you can."

He said sponsor's exemptions are important to Sony for its Japanese and international market, thus the emphasis on extending them to foreign players. He's particularly elated by the performance of one of Sony's exemptions this year — Shigeki Maruyma, who is tied for second with David Toms.

But he's aware that might mean excluding a player with Hawai'i ties as it happened with Fujikawa this year and Dean Wilson several years ago.

At first Fujikawa was disappointed, but now he believes it all turned out for the best, calling it "an awesome feeling" to go through the qualifying rather than getting an exemption. "Exemptions are good, and it's an easy way to get in for me," Fujikawa said. But doing it the hard way by earning his way in and making the cut made it even better, he added.

Getting respect from the players made it all worthwhile, Fujikawa said. "It's a good feeling knowing that they kind of accept you, and I feel I belong here, I really do."

If there were any skeptics left, Fujikawa made believers out of them with his eye-opening 62.

"I was there when Michelle almost made the cut," said Dyer, who was also on hand when Fujikawa wowed 'em at Waialae two years ago. "But this one topped them all."

Whatever way Fujikawa did to get here, we all should be glad that he's playing and showing what he can do.

And you can bet that the next time Sony officials have a decision about extending an exemption to Fujikawa — if he needs one — it won't be a difficult one to make.