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Hawaii teen struggles to make a cut
Tadd Fujikawa and Michelle Wie are teenagers from Hawaii who turned pro before they finished high school and before they had a driver's license.
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Tadd Fujikawa and Michelle Wie are teenagers from Hawaii who turned pro before they finished high school and before they had a driver's license.
Both have been criticized for giving up their youth. Neither of them has made a U.S. PGA Tour cut as a professional.
That's where the similarities end.
Wie's career was orchestrated, if not manipulated. She played 29 times against the pros before she became one herself a week before her 16th birthday.
Her market value rose until she cashed in on endorsements with Sony and Nike, eventually Omega, and had a total income of about $20 million (euro14 million) after one year.
She signed a management contract with the William Morris Agency, known more for its Hollywood stars than golfers. Now in her first year at Stanford University and rarely breaking par, some wonder whether Wie's best golf is behind her.
Fujikawa also took the fast track, but he is starting slowly.
The Children's Miracle Network Classic at Disney is his third sponsor's exemption this year. He missed the cut at the Reno-Tahoe Open and the Fry's.com Open in Las Vegas, only breaking par once.
He missed the cut in two Nationwide Tour events. His last exemption of the year will be the Casio World Open in Japan next month.
Both have been criticized for giving up their youth. Neither of them has made a U.S. PGA Tour cut as a professional.
That's where the similarities end.
Wie's career was orchestrated, if not manipulated. She played 29 times against the pros before she became one herself a week before her 16th birthday.
Her market value rose until she cashed in on endorsements with Sony and Nike, eventually Omega, and had a total income of about $20 million (euro14 million) after one year.
She signed a management contract with the William Morris Agency, known more for its Hollywood stars than golfers. Now in her first year at Stanford University and rarely breaking par, some wonder whether Wie's best golf is behind her.
Fujikawa also took the fast track, but he is starting slowly.
The Children's Miracle Network Classic at Disney is his third sponsor's exemption this year. He missed the cut at the Reno-Tahoe Open and the Fry's.com Open in Las Vegas, only breaking par once.
He missed the cut in two Nationwide Tour events. His last exemption of the year will be the Casio World Open in Japan next month.
Topics mentioned in this article
Golf
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