Tadd Fujikawa is the square peg trying to fit into the generic round hole that is the PGA Tour — particularly when Tiger Woods is hurt. If last week's Sony Open in Hawai'i taught us anything, it is how quickly we forgot how much fun he can be.

Fujikawa, his huge smile dwarfing a 5-foot-1 frame, stormed into the tour's closed little world as a 16-year-old amateur at the 2007 Sony Open in Hawai'i. He became the youngest to make a tour cut in 50 years and finished 20th, energizing the Sony. Hawai'i fans mobbed him, reveling in his precocious golf game and gentle, joyful personality.

He captured the Hawai'i Pearl Open in dramatic fashion a few weeks later and turned pro that summer, anxious to expand his game and believing it was the only way his family could afford his future in golf.

In his next 18 tour events he made just two cuts and a little more than $5,000, while making a major swing change with his new coach (Todd Anderson) in Georgia. Fujikawa made history, becoming the youngest to win the Mid-Pacific Open in April before making those cuts in Japan, but it was not what he had envisioned.

"Golf-gamewise I think I struggled a bit," acknowledged Fujikawa, now 18 and on track to graduate from Moanalua High School this spring. "Parts of it had to do with my swing change and playing on the Mainland and in Europe and Japan. The type of grass is always different and the speed of the greens is hard to get used to.

"I struggled with my short game and putting, but I think I just need to be patient. It's really hard to be patient, but it's just what you need to do. ... The things I've learned are just tremendous. The things I can do now that I couldn't do a year ago — it's unbelievable. My game has improved so much within the past year."

MAGIC IS BACK

After last week's Sony, the believers are back. Fujikawa, denied another exemption after missing the cut last year, Monday qualified with a bogey-free 67. He double-bogeyed his opening hole Thursday, then took over the tournament. He made the cut and inspired nearly 9,000 to come out Saturday — a 44 percent jump from last year.

Fujikawa found the magic that day. With the swing change kicking in, he got his game in the zone and rode the huge crowd around Waialae Country Club, shooting an 8-under-par 62 to share first before the second-round leaders teed off.

In Woods' professional career he has shot 62 twice, and 61 twice. Fujikawa's incredible round stayed on top of the leaderboard for 2 1/2 hours before eventual champion Zach Johnson finally passed him.

Fujikawa transformed the Sony Open into a Tadd House for the second time in three years. What happened in 2007 was no freak accident.

"Everyone has their own kind of perception on things," Fujikawa said Saturday. "I think it helps that I've kind of proven myself from Monday qualifying and then making the cut and then shooting 62 today. It just makes it that much more ... that much better.

"Two years ago, it was a really fun time for me. Last year, I didn't make the cut, so I guess everyone was thinking, 'OK, it must have been a fluke, just had a good week or whatever.' But I knew that I've been working hard and I knew that I needed to just stay focused and keep my goal in mind and I'd be OK. Stay patient and everything will work out for the better."

Fujikawa closed with a 73 before most of the 17,000 who squeezed into Waialae — more than a 30 percent increase over last year — and smiled through his disappointment as he collected nearly $30,000 for his share of 32nd. During the week, Fujikawa made two things quite clear: He is a much better golfer than he was two years ago, and only winning will truly fulfill him.

"Two years ago, I was just out there having fun," he said. "It was a great experience and I ended up playing extremely well. But this year, I'm out there to win. And I know I can do it.

"I've learned so much the past year it is really unbelievable. I've talked to a lot of tour pros and they are telling me stay patient, play as many tournaments as you can, learn as much as I can. Now is not the most important time of my career — it's two, three or four years down the road when I turn 20 or 21. They said put yourself in contention every time you play and you'll learn from your mistakes. That's what I've been trying to do."

BELIEVES HE CAN WIN

Fujikawa's plan this year is to pursue exemptions on the PGA, Nationwide and European tours, and play at least one mini-tour so he can get the week-in, week-out competition that he's been missing. After graduation he will play as much as possible, with an eye on qualifying school later in the year.

Fujikawa knows there is another way. If he had won last Sunday, he would have been eligible to play on the tour through 2011. He sincerely believes he can win, and no one who saw him at Waialae would argue.

"I just want to play well in 2009, win as many tournaments as I can. That's my goal," Fujikawa said. "I really want to go out there, put myself in contention and get a feel for that. That's what I want to focus on. I want to learn as much as I can and get really good experience."

The decision to change his swing to a simpler plane with "fewer moving parts" at this point in his career was as anguishing as the choice to turn pro at 16, according to Fujikawa's mother, Lori. The family knew it would take time to come together, and realized people would wonder why they were changing it when his game was already good.

APPRECIATES SUPPORT

But that was the least of the Fujikawas' worries during 2008. Tadd's father, Derrick, was indicted last year on drug trafficking charges and spent much of his time on the Mainland in a drug rehabilitation facility.

"Honestly, I don't even really know what's happening right now with it," Fujikawa said. "I'm focused on what I need to do and what my goal is and what I need to do to get there. It does set me back a little, but everyone goes through ups and downs and whoever pulls through is going to be the best.

"Hawai'i people have been really supportive of me even when I'm not playing well and everything with my dad (that) happened. I owe a lot of my success to them. I really appreciate what everyone has done for me. It makes me feel good and (want to) do better."

Fujikawa's sincere appreciation of what goes on around him is what drew agent Kevin Bell to him initially. Bell, a partner in the Patton Boggs law firm in Virginia, helped the Fujikawas sign endorsement deals with Aloha Petroleum, Hawaii Medical Assurance Association, Kraft Foods and Omega (watches) worth "between $100,000 and $150,000" last year.

Before this year's Sony, that number had fallen to "less than $100,000" for 2009, with no sponsor exemptions in sight. That changed last weekend, when Lori's cell phone quickly filled with messages and Bell, watching from back East, struggled to find the fastest way to let potential sponsors know how to reach him.

Since the day Fujikawa qualified for Sony two weeks ago, Bell has received "25 to 45 Google alerts on articles, blogs and TV interviews" daily. He has been in recent contact with "beverage companies" and in constant contact with equipment and apparel manufacturers. There have been no immediate offers for endorsements or exemptions, but Bell believes companies are still assessing how best to use Fujikawa to promote their products and tournament directors will wait until closer to the date of their events.

"That being said," Bell wrote in an email, "my phone and BlackBerry have been ringing and buzzing nonstop since last Tuesday. Tadd has received an overwhelming amount of people sending congratulations, including his corporate sponsors, tournament directors who have met Tadd before and others he has met since turning pro.

"I think if more people could see what Lori and I see when we travel with Tadd, corporations would show a great deal more interest in financially supporting Tadd through endorsements. Sometimes all they get is a snapshot view of Tadd at a tournament. Tadd has now played on five professional golf tours around the world and no matter where he goes, people are naturally drawn to him, interested in his story and impressed with his skill level and work ethic.

"I hope Tadd's performance at Sony demonstrates to potential sponsors that Tadd has worked very hard, takes his career seriously and is determined to reach his goals."

WANTS TO PLAY MORE

Bell wants to "better group Tadd's tournaments this year so he can play as much as possible" in the U.S., Europe and Japan. He turned down more exemptions than he accepted in 2008 because of the difficulty of traveling internationally, particularly between Europe and Asia.

"We need to figure out how to play against the best players on the best courses," said Bell, who is also looking at qualifiers and mini-tours. "I want to try and lock down exemptions earlier."

Last week can only help.

"The PGA pros sure seem to think he's got what it takes," Bell said. "That's probably the highest respect he can get. I think what bothers Tadd the most is that people will believe it was his nerves (Sunday) and it really wasn't."

Fujikawa has never looked nervous on the big stage. Despite his humility, he thrives on large crowds. The two traits that worry his family most are that he works too hard and attacks too much on the golf course. Every golfer who has ever been truly successful shares those "flaws."

Ultimately, Fujikawa wants to be back on the PGA Tour fulltime. That dream drives him.

"Everywhere you go is different — Japan, Canada, Europe and the states, they are all different," Fujikawa said. "I'm glad I got to play a lot of the tours. It makes me realize that I want to be on the PGA Tour. I don't want to be anywhere else. The way you get treated, the things you get to do are just totally different. You can get spoiled. A lot."

Certainly, Fujikawa has spoiled those who follow Hawai'i golf. To watch him compete on the best tour in the world with such utter joy has been a rare gift. The little guy insists it is a gift that will keep on giving.

"Honestly, I would not be where I am with my game right now if I stayed amateur and played amateur events," said Fujikawa, who is 21 months younger than the youngest champion in PGA Tour history (Johnny McDermott at the 1911 U.S. Open). "Being out here at 17 and 18 years old is a good experience, and I think by me doing that it will really, really help me down the road."