Dates have been finalized for this year's USGA Hawai'i qualifiers. The U.S. Women's Open sectional remains here and the U.S. Open sectional is still gone.

The U.S. Open is the first USGA event of the year, June 18 to 21 at Bethpage State Park in New York. Golfers can get into the Open by advancing through local and sectional qualifiers.

Hawai'i had Open sectionals from 2004 to 2006, giving Parker McLachlin, former Rainbow Pierre-Henri Soero and Tadd Fujikawa a chance to play without the huge expense of going away. The USGA took Hawai'i's sectional away in 2006, after Fujikawa became the youngest in history to play in the U.S. Open.

Fujikawa advanced through a local qualifier won by Michelle Wie, making a 60-foot birdie putt on the third playoff hole. He won the sectional on Kaua'i a few weeks later, while Wie's quest to be the first female to qualify came up short in New Jersey.

There are four local qualifying sites this year. There is only one local qualifier for the U.S. Women's Open, but the women retained their sectional for the sixth year. Both women's qualifiers will be played at Wailua.

Golfers can register for USGA events online at usga.org. See the list, with entry deadlines, in the chart above.

PROS

BIG CROWDS SEE TADD

The buzz seems to follow Moanalua High School senior Tadd Fujikawa. At last week's Puerto Rico Open, the second-year PGA Tour event saw a huge boost in attendance each day.

The Thursday gallery was 6,900. That more than doubled, to 15,400, on Friday, when Fujikawa got within four shots of the lead with a 4-under-par 68. By Saturday, the crowd mushroomed to 26,000 and Sunday's final round attracted 41,230.

Fujikawa, 18, finished tied for 31st, making his third tour cut in as many tries this year. He missed the cut in his first seven starts after turning pro in 2007.

He has won $61,892 this season ($62,500-plus if you count his 22nd-place finish in the Hawai'i Pearl Open) and would be 164th on the tour's money list if he was a member. That's just behind Rocco Mediate, Fujikawa's playing partner Sunday and 2008 U.S. Open runner-up.

Fujikawa's next sponsor's exemption is for the The Crowns tournament on the Japan tour, April 30 to May 3. It will be his third straight start in Nagoya.

COLLEGE

KONO RANKED FOURTH

Stephanie Kono's win at last week's UCF Challenge had little impact on this week's college rankings.

Kono, a UCLA freshman from Honolulu, remained fourth in the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index despite beating two of the players ranked ahead of her. They golf for USC, which came in a distant fourth at the Challenge, behind the second-ranked Bruins and top-ranked Arizona State.

Kono earned medalist honors for the second time in her collegiate career. The Punahou graduate closed with a 66, with birdies on four of her final seven holes.

UCLA has won six of seven starts this season, and is one victory short of the school record set in 2004, when the Bruins won the national title. They are led by Kono's 71.4 scoring average.

The team rankings, based on a score rating, also remained the same with ASU first, UCLA second and USC third. UCLA shot 14-under 850 at UCF to beat the Sun Devils by seven shots, and did it without three-time All-American Tiffany Joh, who is ranked 23rd. At last month's Arizona Wildcat Invitational, the Bruins beat ASU by nine.

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