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Posted at 2:57 p.m. May 10.

Roberto Galletti Jr., once one of the country's top junior golfers, has left Las Vegas, and will be playing for Arizona next year, according to an April 21 story on the Contra Costa Times Web site. In the article, Galletti, who signed his letter of intent with UNLV in November of '05 while No. 3 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings, cited an unfavorable qualifying system and lack of team unity for his decision. He was enrolled at UNLV for less than two months and never played in an event.

"It wasn't the team atmosphere that I had envisioned. It was just a group of individuals," Galletti said in the article. "We didn't have team practices, I didn't live with anybody, didn't have the same class as anybody. It's hard to feel like you're part of a team when you're not with the team."

Coach Dwaine Knight, in his 20th year with the Runnin' Rebels, released Galletti, of Concord, Calif., from his scholarship.

Posted at 9:52 a.m. April 26 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

At 12 years old, Alexis Thompson is quickly joining some elite company.

"I've only received media requests about two players before they were old enough to actually play an AJGA event," AJGA VP of communications Steve Ethun told Junior Extra. "Michelle Wie and Alexis."

He said this even before Thompson became the second-youngest winner in AJGA history on Sunday.

It started two years ago, when she was beating girls as much as 7 years older than her in Florida Junior Tour events. Then in December she became the youngest winner in the history of the Doral Publix Junior Classic.

Those feats were against weaker competition, though. Winning in just her second AJGA start (she finished fourth in her debut) is her most impressive feat thus far.

Posted at 4:57 p.m. April 23 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail smartin@golfweek.com.

Junior Extra Fantasy Golf Update:

Dan Mirocha and Sean Martin both picked winner Alexis Thompson, leaving Mirocha in first with 230 points, and Martin tied for second with Eric Soderstrom with 150 points each.

Posted at 9:52 a.m. April 14 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

I have been asked many questions this month, including "When are you going to take me out to dinner?" and "Do you love your Nintendo Wii more than me?"

But there's only been one question I've heard this April more than "Zach Johnson?"

That is, "How did they pick that World Junior team?"

We're talking here about the 2007 World Junior Golf Team Championship, to which the United States annually sends four of its best juniors.

(Since the United States, Japan and New Zealand were the only countries which played in the inaugural World Junior team event, they are exempt into the finals every year. All other countries must qualify.)

This year, Spencer Cole, Russell Henley, Andrew Putnam and Steve Ziegler were selected to compete June 19-22 at Chukyo Golf Club in Toyota City, Japan. They will be coached by Kyle Blaser, the head coach at Oklahoma City University.

I sent an e-mail last week to coach Blaser, who forwarded my question to Greg Grost, executive director of the Golf Coaches Association of America and former coach of the World Junior team. He was very helpful.

In my phone conversation with him yesterday, Grost explained that the GCAA took over administration of the event about four years ago from the Junior Orange Bowl Committee, which had picked the teams since the event's inception. Nowadays, the GCAA is responsible for everything from choosing the players and coach to travel plans and uniforms.

As far as picking the team, "Realistically speaking, we'd love to have the top four ranked junior players in the United States that are graduation seniors...," Grost said.

But there are many factors here that make that improbable:

• Only graduating seniors who have signed a letter of intent are eligible. The GCAA changed that rule recently so not to give the coach an unfair advantage with a recruit.

• It is a 10-day committment in the middle of the summer, which is prime real estate. Jamie Lovemark, for example, opted to play in last year's Western Open and spend time with his father instead. These days, Japan in June doesn't necessarily get these top kids riled up.

• Players trying to make the Walker Cup team may take their name out of the running. (This year, that may have included Philip Francis and Rickie Fowler.)

• You must be an American citizen.

Grost said the GCAA starts with a list of about 12 kids, seven of which keep their names in the hat.

The final decision comes from a meeting of the following committee members:

• Mac Thayer, Executive Director, Junior Golf Scoreboard.
• J.R. Steinbauer, Jr., Tournament Director, Junior Orange Bowl.
• Divison 1 All-American Chair: Mike Dirks, Houston.
• Palmer Cup coach: Mike McGraw, Oklahoma State.
• Walker Cup Captain: Buddy Marucci
• World Junior team coach: Kyle Blaser
• The GCAA president and past president also have the option to be on the committee, but never choose to do so, Grost said.

I think we're sending a good team, made up of four kids with similar frames and games. They will be playing their college golf at Georgia, Stanford, Alabama and Pepperdine, which is enough resume for me.

I don't see how you could pick against them.

Posted at 5:52 p.m. April 20 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

Junior Extra Fantasy Golf Update:

Aldila Junior Classic, Treyburn Country Club, Durham, N.C.:

Dan Mirocha (180 points): Brinson Paolini, Stacey Kim.
Eric Soderstrom (120): Minghao Wang, Michelle Shin.
Sean Martin (100): Brinson Paolini, Alexis Thompson.

There are 20 bonus points this weekend for the person who correctly identifies the low junior at the Terra Cotta Invitational in Naples, Fla.:

Mirocha: Jhared Hack.
Soderstrom: Arnond Vongvanij.
Martin: Spencer Cole.

• • •

Point system: Win (50 points), runner-up (30 points), top-5 (20 points), top-10 (10 points), top-20 (5 points). Zero points for anything outside the top 20. Bonus points when specified.

Posted at 4:45 p.m. April 20 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

Junior Extra Fantasy Golf Update:

Dan Mirocha extended his lead with steady picks Josh Jones (3rd) and Taylore Karle (T-4) to 180 points, while Eric Soderstrom's Brooks Bankhead (28th) prediction didn't payoff. He has 120 points, while Sean Martin has 100.

Stay tuned for next week's picks...

Posted at 9:52 a.m. April 16 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

Junior Extra Fantasy Golf Update:

Wellstone Communities Junior at Craig Ranch, TPC Craig Ranch, McKinney, Texas:

Dan Mirocha (140 points): Josh Jones (According to mapquest.com, it is 12.84 miles from the Jones' family driveway to the parking lot at TPC Craig Ranch. Round that down to 12 and divide by the number of runner-up finishes Jones had last year (2) and you get six, the number of strokes he will win by.)

Taylore Karle (I met Taylore's family at an Applebee's last year in Stillwater, Okla. According to applebees.com, there is exactly one Applebees Restaurant in McKinney, Texas, which is exactly how many strokes Karle will win by.)

Eric Soderstrom (100 points): Brooks Bankhead (With many of the bigger names struggling, I'm going with the hometown kid who tied for 6th last year.)

For the girls, I can't go wrong with Kimberly Kim.

Sean Martin (80 points): Cory Whitsett, Taylore Karle.

• • •

Point system: Win (50 points), runner-up (30 points), top-5 (20 points), top-10 (10 points), top-20 (5 points). Zero points for anything outside the top 20.

Posted at 5:45 p.m. April 12 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

So, how about Richard Lee's scorecard from last weekend, when he won the Heather Farr?

First-round 64. He shot 30 on the back, and made no bogies throughout.

He made bogey on two of his first four holes of Round 2, but made four birdies and 10 pars on the remaining holes to shoot 69.

Had it not been for his 41 on the front nine of Round 3, he would have blown the field away. He shot 31 on the back, with a bogey.

What have learned here? Nothing we already didn't know. Lee, as he showed us during his runner-up performance at last summer's U.S. Junior, is long and streaky.

If he's hitting is drives straight, I tend to think he's almost unbeatable among the junior ranks. Especially in match play. But consistency has always been a problem, which could lead to a season lilke Rickie Fowler's last year, with a high ranking and low win count.

Going 64-69-72 isn't steady enough to win every event. But Lee, who only turned 16 last October, is still learning.

That's the scary part.

Posted at 4:45 p.m. April 11 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

Junior Extra Fantasy Golf Update:

Dan Mirocha picked winners Spencer Cole and Jane Rah to earn 140 points and the respect of his peers. Eric Soderstrom, who sits in second with 100 points, is chalking up Peter Uihlein's 46th-place finish to the JGE Preview cover jinx. Meanwhile, Sean Martin is sitting with his head down in his cubicle after earning only 80 points.

Stay tuned for next week's picks...

Posted at 9:45 p.m. April 8 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

Welcome to Junior Extra's Fantasy Golf game. For the rest of the year, ending with the AJGA's Polo Junior Golf Classic in November, JGE's Sean Martin, Eric Soderstrom and Dan Mirocha will compete here every week in Blog Jr., making their junior golf predictions.

The rules are simple, because I'm not smart enough to make them difficult: Pick one player for each designated tournament. Only roadblock: You can't pick the same player two consecutive weeks.

The point system is as follows: Win (50 points), runner-up (30 points), top-5 (20 points), top-10 (10 points), top-20 (5 points). Zero points for anything outside the top 20.

We'll post our picks (and sometimes comments) and updated results here every week...

• • •

WEEK ONE: PING Junior at The Woodlands, Heather Farr Classic, Mizuno Junior at Chateau Elan.

PING Junior at The Woodlands:

Sean Martin: Patrick Reed (He lost a playoff last year to Arnond Vongvanij. The "Bank" is closed this year – or at least not in the field – so I think Reed will cash in.); Sydney Burlison (She won by six last year. Hard to pick against that.)

Eric Soderstrom: Peter Uihlein (Still unhappy about his performance here last year, and seems out for revenge); Sydney Burlison.

Dan Mirocha: William Kropp; Jane Rah.

Heather Farr Classic:

Martin: Andrew Yun (He's listed third from last in the field list, but he'll finish first, especially since he's now an Arizona resident.); Mina Harigae (She won last year, but she said she's playing even better now. That Verizon Junior Heritage win is proof.)

Soderstrom: Sihwan Kim; Taylore Karle (Made the cut at recent LPGA's Safeway Classic.)

Mirocha: Sihwan Kim; Mina Harigae.

Mizuno Junior at Chateau Elan:

Martin: Wesley Graham (He's playing outside of Florida! It's a rare occurence, so you have to take advantage of it when he does.); Cydney Clanton (The Polo runner-up gets a win.)

Soderstrom: Wesley Graham (Could surprise all of us this year.); Cydney Clanton (Runner-up at the Polo will start '07 similarly.)

Mirocha: Spencer Cole; Kimberly Donovan (Because I don't like to copy Sean and Eric).

Posted at 8:45 p.m. March 30 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

The junior golf season kicks off next week. Of course, I say that with caution.

There has never been an official beginning or end to this seemingly year-round circus, and with the American Junior Golf Association still claiming November's Polo Golf Junior Classic as their annual kick-off, I only want to throw more calendars over my cubicle wall.

So why next week? Not because this year's AJGA schedule just happens to open with the Mizuno Junior, Ping Junior and Heather Farr.

Next Friday, Junior Golf Extra unveils its 2007 Preview, which I think is reason enough. E-mail me if you disagree. (I will adjust my Spam filter accordingly.)

To keep you interested until then, stay close to Blog Jr., where all summer Sean Martin, Dan Mirocha and I will keep you up to date with news and rumblings and rants and surely some dumb things, all from the world of junior golf.

We (free) will do our best to compete with the Nintendo Wii ($250, plus accessories), but will definitely beat Playstation 3 ($600 plus even more accessories).

But now to today's topic, finally: While watching the action from today's World Golf Championship at Doral, and thinking back to last Monday when one of my co-workers was flipping through some old Golfweeks from 1997, I started to wonder how many can't-miss juniors from 10 years ago had actually made it all the way this week to Miami.

Two, I found out: Kevin Stadler and Trevor Immelman.

From the 56 guys who where honored the night of the 1997 Rolex Junior All-American banquet, only Stadler and Immelman remain on the elite stage. (But even Stadler's position is somewhat arguable.)

Is 2-for-56 good or bad odds here? I'm not sure. We're dealing with a lot of factors here, and definitely not enough information - every one of these guys has a story, and I'm sure many of them don't care that they're absent at Doral this week.

So I'm working on that, but for now, take a look at the list from 1997, and make your own assumptions.

My quick take? Get all you can out of that college scholarship. To the list...

I've listed the three teams and honorable mentions, all with their current Golfweek/Sagarin Professional ranking in parenthesis. To be ranked, players must have competed in at least 11 ranked events (PGA Tour, Nationwide Tour, European Tour, European Challenge Tour, Australian Tour, Japan Tour, Asian Tour, Sunshine Tour, Canadian Tour) over the past year. I researched only the guys who had a current ranking.

FIRST TEAM

• Jason Allred (437): 38th on 2006 Nationwide Tour Money List (won 1997 U.S. Junior over Immelman)

• Bubba Dickerson (333): 127th on 2006 PGA Tour Money List (won 2001 U.S. Amateur)

• David Gossett (824): Has only played a handful of Nationwide and PGA Tour events each of the past few seasons (won 2001 John Deere Classic, 1999 U.S. Amateur)

• Ryan Hybl: 28th, Golfweek/Titleist Amateur Rankings (Assistant coach, University of Georgia and 2006 U.S. Mid-Amateur runner-up)

• John Klauk (N/A)

• John Ray Leary (N/A)

• Nicholas Loar (N/A)

• Michael Maness (N/A)

• Kris Mikkelsen (N/A)

• Jin Park (689): 104th, 2006 Nationwide Tour Money List

SECOND TEAM

• Mike Austin (N/A)

• Michael Beard (N/A)

• Erik Compton (273): 72nd, 2006 Nationwide Tour Money List

• J.C. DeLeon, Tulsa, Okla. (N/A)

• Lucas Glover (41): 21st, 2006 PGA Tour Money List (won 2005 Funai Classic)

• Ken Lewis (N/A)

• Leif Olson (N/A)

• Tim Riley (N/A)

• Robert Sul (N/A)

• Russell Surber (N/A, 9 events)

THIRD TEAM

• Matt Brost: 285th, 2006 Nationwide Tour Money List

• Andy Doeden (N/A, 9 events)

• Ben Duncan (N/A)

• Trevor Immelman (6): 7th, 2006 PGA Tour Money List (won 2006 Western Open)

• Erik Labitzke (N/A)

• Bryce Molder (305): 22nd, 2006 Nationwide Tour Money List (2007 PGA Tour member)

• Brian Nosler (N/A, 7 events)

• Kevin Stadler (255): Playing in WGC-CA Championship

• Brady Stockton (N/A)

• Scott Volpitto (N/A)

BOYS HONORABLE MENTION

• Anthony Arvidson (N/A)

• Culley Barragan (N/A)

• Gant Bills (N/A)

• Adam Cranford (N/A)

• Bart DeLuca (N/A)

• Kenny Doerrer (N/A)

• Cory Driskill (N/A)

• Zach Dufresne (N/A)

• Chris Emanuel (N/A)

• John Engler (614): 222nd, 2006 PGA Tour Money List

• Raul Garcia (N/A)

• Damian Hale (N/A)

• Brett Johnson (N/A)

• Chad Jones (N/A)

• Gregg Jones (N/A)

• Mac Kellett (N/A)

• Calvin Kupeyan (N/A, 2 events)

• Greg Larson (N/A)

• Stephen Marino (75), 42nd, 2006 Nationwide Tour Money List (earned 2007 PGA Tour card at Q-school)

• Doug McKeever (N/A)

• David Morgan (N/A, 1 event)

• Travis Stewart (N/A)

• Boyd Summerhays (640): Conditional Nationwide Tour status (124th, 2006 PGA Tour Q-School)

• Brian Swope (N/A)

• Taylor Walsh (N/A)

• Bubba Watson (168): 90th, 2006 PGA Tour Money List

• Scott Wingfield (N/A)

If anyone's got any good stories about anyone on this list, or anything to add, send me an e-mail. I'm curious.

Posted at 7:45 p.m. March 23 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

The Blog Jr. crew was at media day for the LPGA Tour's Ginn Open, when we looked over and saw a girl in a green Hogan-style cap in an adjacent fairway. That headwear was a dead giveaway – it was Vicky Hurst. Turns out the 16-year-old – No. 6 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings – has received a sponsor exemption into the event April 12-15 at Reunion (Fla.) Resort. Hurst, the 2006 U.S. Girls Junior runner-up, lives about 90 minutes away in Melbourne, Fla., where she is a junior at Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy.

Hurst shot 2 under during today's outing, a good sign for her second pro tournament. Hurst also played the 2006 U.S. Women's Open, where she missed the cut with rounds of 78 and 82.

Posted at 5:12 p.m. Feb. 27 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail smartin@golfweek.com.

Details have finally made their way down from the Mountain Matches, where the East rode a Sunday morning foursomes sweep to an eventual 11 1/2- 8 1/2 President's Day victory.

Accordingly, the East leads the all-time series, 1-0.

"It's good to finally win one team event, it feels awesome," said East captain Peter Uihlein, who like his teammates, is usually on the losing end of AJGA Canon Cups. "We had a lot of chemistry and I could put anyone with anyone and they wouldn't mind playing with each other. It made my job much easier."

Uihlein finished the weekend 2-1-1, getting the better of West captain and top-ranked Philip Francis, who shockingly failed to win any of his four matches.

"I didn't play well," said Francis, who finished 0-3-1. "None of us really played well."

Uihlein, Golfweek's fourth-ranked junior, was 6 up with six to play against Francis in their Monday singles match, which was played in 20 mph winds and temperatures in the 40s, always unusual for Scottsdale, Ariz. Francis made a small comeback, but lost, 3 and 2, in the pair's highly-anticipated first head-to-head meeting.

Earlier in the weekend, Francis and third-ranked Drew Kittleson halved their four-ball match with Uihlein and Arnond Vongvanij. On Day 2, Uihlein teamed with Spencer Cole to beat Francis and second-ranked Rickie Fowler (1-3) in foursomes, 1 up.

During that match, Cole holed an 80-yard approach shot on the par-5 16th of Desert Mountain's Outlaw course to go 2 up. That halted a charging Francis and Fowler, who had won the last two holes.

"Greatest moment of the week and one of the best I've been apart of," said Uihlein.

Also starring for the West was Bud Cauley, the only player to win all four of his matches. Cauley also was the only boy to go undefeated at last summer's Canon Cup. [See Sean Martin's feature on Cauley tommorrow in Junior Extra.]

Sihwan Kim played the best for the West, as the only player on that side to win three matches. Kim seems to have stepped up his game lately, also winning December's Junior Orange Bowl. It seems he has shed that Can't Win Outside of California label.

Man of the Match? Have to pick Cauley, with honorable mentions going to Uihlein, Vongvanij and Ji Moon, who may be the most underrated kid in junior golf.

Despite his record, I also need to hand Francis a trophy for making this tournament happen. Junior golf needed a boys-only set of matches. Francis not only delivered that, but what sounded like one heck of a weekend in Scottsdale, complete with good food, limos, pick-up basketball games and championship rings.

That's right. The East will be receiving championship rings.

"The weekend was amazing, I hope we do it again," said Uihlein.

"It would be cool if the (AJGA) Player of the Year could do this every year," said Francis.

It would be cool if anyone could.

Posted at 2:35 p.m. Feb. 22 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

How about those Mountain Matches results? I'm still gathering all the details, but the East certainly backed up its claim that things would be different without the girls.

I'll be back tomorrow with a full report, so here are a couple thoughts to keep you occupied:

• The East's Bud Cauley (4-0) was the only player to go undefeated. You might remember he also went 4-0 at last summer's Canon Cup, and was again the only boy to go undefeated.

• Host and top-ranked Philip Francis goes 0-3-1. I know it was a busy weekend for the 18-year-old, keeping track of rides and flights and food and everything else, but this was certainly a shock. In similar news, Rickie Fowler went 1-3. Francis and Fowler also lost a foursomes match together.

Posted at 3:35 p.m. Feb. 21 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

Tadd's back in the headlines, this time as the winner of the Hawaii Pearl Open.

The Honolulu Advertiser is reporting that Blog Junior's favorite Hawaiian has been contacted by "Oprah" and "The View" for a possible appearance. A date has not been scheduled.

While Tadd's story would play well with the female-dominated audiences of "Oprah" and "The View," I'd like to see Fujikawa mix it up on "The Late Show with David Letterman." Dave usually has his sports-related guest perform their craft on 53rd Street outside the Ed Sullivan Theater.

Comedy bit suggestion: First to hit a golf ball through a glass window gets a deli platter from Rupert Jee's Hello-Deli.

Posted at 11:36 a.m. Feb. 12 by assistant editor Dan Mirocha. To reach him e-mail dmirocha@golfweek.com.

Heck of a year for junior golf already. If you haven't seen it yet, this week's cover of Golfweek features top-ranked Esther Choe. Choe is the subject of our monthly For Your Game instruction series, where she details along with coach Jim Flick how she has shaped her game.

That's 2-for-5 (issues), if you're counting. Junior Tadd Fujikawa, of course, made the cover after his performance at the Sony Open.

I can't remember any others since I started working here.

Posted at 1:04 p.m. Feb. 7 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

The Jones Cup Invitational is being played this weekend, which can only mean two things:

1.) Our nation's finest young male golfers are currently being treated like kings. (Seriously, you don't even want to know. Ask any of them - they'll tell you there isn't a better dinner party/tournament to get invited to. Not even the Isleworth college event.)

2.) It's a Walker Cup year.

One junior to keep an eye on this weekend is Rickie Fowler. A few months ago, he told me he might play the Thunderbird International in May. Last week, he said he had totally revamped his schedule in order to make the Walker Cup team.

"I'm not sure if I'm going to play any junior stuff," said Fowler, who was one of three juniors (Philip Francis, Kevin Tway) invited to January's Walker Cup practice. "I'm gonna base my whole summer off (the Walker Cup)."

The Jones Cup, which is only played on Walker Cup years, has always been billed as a Walker Cup preview. And although we're not exactly sure how that Walker Cup team is picked, a good finish here would certainly give Fowler an edge.

Already, I've heard people say he is in the best position of the three juniors to make this team. That Francis may have dominated the junior circuit this summer, but Fowler's run at the U.S. Amateur, where he beat future Oklahoma State teammate Pablo Martin, was perhaps more impressive when it comes to Walker Cup points.

I've also heard, however, that Francis (who isn't at the Jones Cup) really turned heads at the Walker Cup practice session, going 4-1 in his matches. Kevin Tway, meanwhile, was born for the match play format.

I'm not sure what to expect, but I have a feeling that, at most, only one of those kids is going to make the team.

Francis and Fowler love to say there isn't a rivalry there. And, trust me, they remain good friends.

But this summer, they'll surely be keeping an eye on each other.

Posted at 6:10 p.m. Feb. 2 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

(OK, I love Tadd, but this is not the Tadd Blog, so time for another topic...)

If you haven't heard, Peter Uihlein is heading to Oklahoma State. Rickie Fowler, of course, will be there a year earlier.

I just talked to Rickie about it, and he said he'd been pushing hard for Peter to join him.

If you don't remember, Fowler lost to Uihlein, 5 and 4, in their singles match at this summer's Canon Cup. Later on at the Polo Junior Golf Classic, Fowler began his semfinal match against Uihlein with seven consecutive birdies, also en route to a 5-and-4 victory.

"So," I asked him, "when you were making seven birdies in a row on him, you were like, 'Come to OSU!' "

"Yeah," Rickie said, laughing, "I was like, this is what you get to play with if you come over to Oklahoma State."

Posted at 6:47 p.m. Jan. 21 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

I'm watching coverage of the Bob Hope this afternoon, and after hearing some sarcastic swing analysis from Golf Channel's Nick Faldo, tournament host George Lopez responds saying that he's coming after him.

Faldo's response: "That's ok. I've got Tadd Fujikawa as my bodyguard now."

Posted at 5:40 p.m. Jan. 20 by assistant editor Dan Mirocha. To reach him e-mail dmirocha@golfweek.com.

So, when is Tadd going to go pro now that he's proved he can compete on the PGA Tour? Sooner than you may think.

"If anything, I'm going to turn pro after high school," he told USA Today. "I may want to go to college."

Our recommendation? Listen to Mr. T. Don't be a fool, stay in school. Go to Oklahoma State. All the cool kids are doing it.

Posted at 4:11 p.m. Jan. 19 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail smartin@golfweek.com.

Great picture here of Tadd Fujikawa and Golf Channel's Nick Faldo during a pre-final round interview last weekend. (If the picture disappears before you see it, it's Tadd standing on a cooler so the pair will be the same height for TV.)

Posted at 6:41 p.m. Jan. 17 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

Fujikawa Week is over. The Taddster finished tied for 20th, beating guys like Vijay Singh, John Daly, Rich Beem, Trevor Immelman, Chad Campbell, Tom Lehman and Abe Mariano.

By transitive property (and considering Fujikawa is 19th in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings), I would bet the AJGA's West Canon Cup team could beat the American Ryder Cup team. Especially this year.

In honor of Tadd's Most Excellent Adventure, Blog Jr. presents its first Top 10 list, recapping the Week of the Wee one, and not the Wie one:

10. Tadd, after making the cut Friday: "Having all these people watching and supporting me ... I wish everybody in the world could feel what I'm feeling now."

9. Beating Michelle Wie, and erasing her from the headlines.

8. Eventual champion Paul Goydos: "I think (Tadd's) the story this week." Also, "My understanding is he hits it farther than me and hits it better than me," Goydos said.

7. Seeing Tadd's face on the home page of Yahoo.com.

6. Tadd's tee shot on No. 18 in the third round. Sure, it hit a palm tree some 40 yards off the tee, and only travelled about 150 yards, but it was just another sign that Tadd wasn't intimidated by the spotlight. Tadd, 7 under at the time and near the top of the leaderboard, almost swung out of his shoes, falling backward as he followed through. A day earlier, Tadd's drive on 18 measured 345 yards, and it was obvious he was trying to beat that. He didn't, but we laughed.

5. Getting to brag that we knew Tadd Fujikawa before he blew up, kind of like your favorite indie band.

4. Shooting 66 on Friday, and again on Saturday. On the PGA Tour.

3. His 50-footer for birdie on No. 11 Saturday. After the putt fell into the center of the cup, Tadd followed with a fistpump, sending the 1,500 people in the gallery into Fujikawa frenzy.

2. Eighteenth hole standing ovations on Friday, after making the cut, and then on Sunday. He rolled in his final 10-footer for birdie to complete the fairytale.

(Did we mention beating Michelle Wie?)

1. His birdie-par-eagle finish on Friday. It was the most exciting hour on Tour in maybe a year, and the Golf Channel surely benefited. Maybe Nick Faldo, who told Tadd his game was good enough to play with the big boys, can convince Tim Finchem to slip the little guy a Tour card.

Fujikawa vs. The FedEx Cup? Who would win?

Posted at 1:41 p.m. Jan. 15 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom (Sean Martin helped a little bit). To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

Tadd Fujikawa is in eighth place heading into the final round of the PGA Tour's Sony Open, and is probably playing the best golf of any of the guys in the top 10. Including Luke Donald.

Now, consider, as my colleague Sean Martin pointed out to me today, that Fujikawa actually had a losing head-to-head record this year against the top-25, top-50 and top-100 juniors in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings.

Since I'm logging in on my day off, I'll just let you think about that.

(P.S. As a reporter, I'm not supposed to cheer for anyone. But, I believe Junior Golf vs. The PGA Tour is an exception.)

Posted at 10:31 p.m. Jan. 14 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

Another 66 from Mr. Tadd, which got me thinking...

Is he available for my fantasy golf team?

Just a thought.

Posted at 7:42 p.m. Jan. 13 by assistant editor Dan Mirocha. To reach him e-mail dmirocha@golfweek.com.

Fuji-KAWA! Pow!

(If you didn't know, that's Judo for "Take that, Sony Open.")

Wow.

If you haven't heard, the Taddster (a.k.a. Tadd Fujikawa, the former national Judo champion) just became the youngest person in 50 years to make a cut on the PGA Tour.

"First of all, I can't even breathe right now, I'm just so excited," Tadd said.

Aloha, that was good television, especially for a Friday night at 11 p.m. Seriously, folks. Take that last hour tonight on the Golf Channel, loop it throughout the season, and Timmy Finchem could renegotiate that Tour TV deal tomorrow.

It worked out perfectly that Fujikawa was in the day's last group, which finished late. The Golf Channel switched from its official tournament coverage to the Sprint Post Game show, which was immediately dedicated to Tadd Watch.

He pulled out a roundhouse fist pump after his birdie on 16, kept us on the edge of the bleachers with a birdie putt that scraped the edge on 17, then sent anyone who's ever been on a Hawaiian island fistpumping with his eagle on 18.

I only dozed off once, when Nick Faldo started talking about ice cream.

But really, my fiance summed it all up: "I don't even usually like watching this. But that was cool."

Don't forget, GolfweekTV had Tadd before anyone. Last May, my boss came over and asked to me think of ideas for the opening show of our "Amateur Summer" series. I picked Fujikawa, partly because of his improving game, partly because I wanted him to break a golf club in half on camera.

Tadd shot me down, politely explaining that Judo is based on self defense. There is no breaking of boards or Big Berthas. Fair enough. Instead, he threw GolfweekTV host Asher Wildman to the ground. (You can watch, by clicking here.)

A month later, Fujikawa became the youngest player to ever qualify for the U.S. Open. His story (premature baby kicks butt in Judo tournaments, then golf tournaments) was told in every newspaper, on every news channel. CNN even called our office.

It happens.

After the Open, Fujikawa's results were fair. He finished 16th at the AJGA's Rolex Tournament of Champions, then made it to the Sweet 16 of the U.S. Junior. He finished 42nd at the HP Boys Junior Championship and tied for 7th at the Ping Invitational.

The last time I saw him, he had just completed his second consecutive 75 at Thanksgiving's Polo Junior Golf Classic to miss the cut. He was disappointed, but smiling, as always.

It was, remember, at the 2005 Polo that Tadd first hit the radar, making it to the finals as a 14-year-old against Golfweek's current No. 1 collegiate Jamie Lovemark.

Lovemark, 18, finished in a tie for 54th at last year's Western Open on the PGA Tour. That was quite impressive.

Fujikawa is currently tied for 25th at Sony, and playing well on a course he knows fairly well (he goes to high school down the street from Waialae Country Club).

Hopefully, he catches his breath.

Posted at 12:31 a.m. Jan. 14 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

Tadd! What a final three holes. And then to cap it off with an EAGLE at No. 18. His reaction couldn't have been better.

My goose bumps grew goose bumps.

Posted at 11:01 p.m. Jan. 12 by assistant editor Dan Mirocha. To reach him e-mail dmirocha@golfweek.com.

Sony Walkman, I was wrong.

Our boy Tadd Fujikawa isn't going to beat Michelle Wie by four shots at the Sony Open. He's going to beat her by like 40.

Currently, the Taddster is 3 under through 13 holes of his second round, and 2 under for the tournament. Michelle is at 12 over. More important, it looks like Tadd is going to make the cut, which would make him the youngest player in 50 years to make a weekend on the PGA Tour.

It also should shut up all the people who thought Fujikawa playing in last summer's U.S. Open was flukey.

Fujikawa is only 5 feet tall, but this is a big deal. I'm interested to see how much coverage the Golf Channel gives him over the next hour.

Posted at 9:58 p.m. Jan. 12 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

That little guy from Hawaii is at it again. Tadd Fujikawa, who you should remember last summer became the youngest player (15 years old) to ever play in the U.S. Open, is in the field for this week's Sony Open in Hawaii. He qualified in December through the Aloha PGA, which had one amateur spot up for grabs.

Michelle Wie is also in the mix this week. People said Wie should have tried to qualify for last year's Open through the Hawaii qualifier, considering Fujikawa came out of that small (some would say, easy) field. (The USGA recently did away with the Hawaii qualifier.)

Not to add fuel to the Wie-Fujikawa fire, but I bet Tadd beats her this week by four strokes. Four?! Yeah, why not?

Michelle's too busy figuring out which meal plan option she should choose at Stanford.

(P.S. Happy Birthday to Tadd, who turned 16 on Monday.)

Posted at 5:31 p.m. Jan. 9 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

Making an eagle is hard enough. It's even harder to make two in a row. How about eagling the final two holes of a tournament to win by a single shot?

That's what Hojin Kang did Jan. 7 to win the boys 13-15 age division of a Florida Junior Tour event at PGA National's Haig course.

Kang holed a 50-foot putt on No. 17, then holed out from 110 yards on No. 18 to finish at 2-over 146, one shot ahead of Matthew Ceravolo.

"I never had two eagles in one round," Kang said. "I just wanted to par out on the final holes."

Posted at 2:22 p.m. Jan. 7 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail smartin@golfweek.com