Fujikawa Goes Pro
Earlier in the week, 16-year-old Tadd Fujikawa from Hawaii announced that he is going pro. There are obvious advantages for going pro, money being the primary one. But it’s just disappointing in my opinion. I know that golf is a very expensive sport, and that for the average family, too pricey to pursue at that high level. But the kid is 16-years-old for pete’s sake.
My personally opinion is that these kids can get just as good instruction by getting a full scholarship and playing for a top 10 college like a Georgia Tech or Stanford. It’s a different situation than say basketball and the NBA. A kid like Lebron could play with the pros day in and day out, can’t say the same for golf. I just don’t think a 16-year-old kid is ready for the rigors of the pro tour. Most tour veterans still aren’t able to deal with it. It’s one thing to play one or two tournaments a year, to playing 10-15 events a year.
Go to college, learn to play competitive golf with players your own age, and when you’re 21, you’ll be ready to play on the pro tour.
Tadd Fujikawa is more likely to end up like Ty Tryon than he is Tiger Woods. Just another case where the parents are thinking more about the $$$ than what’s really the best for the kid.
July 13th, 2007 at 9:54 pm
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July 13th, 2007 at 11:54 pm
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July 14th, 2007 at 11:44 pm
Yes, we tennis coaches know many similar stories in tennis arena.
Some of those of course turn out well, but most do not.
Roger Federer went pro at age 17 and has many many losses in the first two years.
He was mature enough though to understand that this is the learning process and he kept fighting.
But there are of course thousands of tennis juniors (and pushy parents) who go pro before the person is ready…
July 15th, 2007 at 11:56 am
it’s sad, very very sad…
November 28th, 2007 at 6:41 pm
[...] played everything. Kids and parents these days are so eager to force their kids into something, and make them go pro as soon as possible. It truly is [...]