Even as he practiced daily last week getting ready to defend his title in the Mid-Pacific Open, Tadd Fujikawa took time off to watch the Masters.

After all, it's his goal to play Augusta National one day. But he was also interested to see how three of his teenage golfing peers — Ireland's Rory McIlroy, Japan's Ryo Ishikawa and Danny Lee, a Korean-born New Zealander, handled their first Masters.

"I think it's great that they got to play in the Masters," Fujikawa said. "I think it's good for golf, especially the younger players. It'll give them something to strive for and to know that they can compete at the highest level."

Like I said, Fujikawa wants to join that trio of young guns someday. He played practice rounds in Japan with McIlroy, the only one of the three to make the cut, and Ishikawa last year. He also played in the some junior tournaments with Lee, the reigning U.S. Amateur champion, who turned pro right after the Masters.

"Ishikawa's a really good putter and real consistent," said Fujikawa, who won the 2007 Hawai'i Pearl Open in which Ishikawa finished tied for 13th, seven strokes back, although they didn't play together in any of the three rounds. As for McIlroy, Fujikawa says, "stats and stuff," he's the best young player out there right now. "He definitely has got game."

Meanwhile, Fujikawa has to contend with several local young guns of his own in the Mid-Pac Open starting today at the Mid-Pacific Country Club in Lanikai.

Chief among them is Lorens Chan, who won the Hawai'i State Amateur Stroke Play Championship by eight strokes last month. Other top teenagers in the field include Bradley Shigezawa, Pearl Open low amateur; Alika Bell, who's playing at his home course; Henry Park, Michael Fan and Alex Chu. Chan, an 'Iolani School freshman, won't turn 15 until next month, so he has three years to supplant Fujikawa as the youngest Mid-Pac Open champion, if no one else beats him to it. Fujikawa won it when he was 17 years and four months.

He's happy that there are so many up-and-coming youngsters in local golf. "I think it's good," Fujikawa said. "Local golf has improved a lot. It should get better with all the young golfers coming up."

For Fujikawa, though, what was significant about last year's seven-stroke victory wasn't that he was the youngest champion in the tournament's 51-year history. Or the $13,500 top prize he took home. The winning purse has been upped to $14,000 this year, by the way.

Rather, it's that the 2008 Mid-Pac Open victory came in his first local showing other than the Sony Open since turning professional the previous July. "It was my first local tournament as a pro and my first win as a pro," said the Moanalua High School senior.

"It was a good confidence-builder last year before I went to Japan. I hope it will be the same again," said Fujikawa, who's playing in The Crowns, a Japan Golf Tour Organization event, at the Nagoya Golf Club at the end of the month. He finished tied for 48th last year, earning $2,999 in making his first JGTO cut.

Fujikawa is 3 for 3 in making the cut in PGA Tour events this year — T32 in the Sony Open in Hawai'i, T52 in Honda Classic and T31 in the Puerto Rico Open, for $61,892 in combined earnings.

"I think it's a pretty good accomplishment," Fujikawa said about his showing in PGA Tour events so far this year. "But I'd like to do better on the weekends."

He'll get a good tuneup this week in the only 72-hole open tournament locally. And it includes a talented field, not only the previously mentioned young guns who hope to become the first amateur to win the Mid-Pac Open since Brandan Kop did it in 1995.

Kop, still one of the best amateurs around, is among nine past champions in the field. Besides Fujikawa, Kop is joined by three-time winner David Ishii; Regan Lee, the tournament's only three-peat winner (2002 to 2004); John Lynch, Beau Yokomoto, Casey Nakama, Larry Stubblefield and Lance Suzuki, Mid-Pac Open's most dominant champion with eight titles. Ishii still holds the tournament record with a 17-under-par 271 shot in 1986.

Other top pros entered include Kevin Hayashi, who's still trying to add the Mid-Pac Open to his resume of local major victories; Casey Watabu, the 2006 U.S. Men's Amateur Public Links champion; Travis Toyama, John Hearn, Shane Hoshino, Ron Castillo Jr., Kirk Nelson, Matt Pakkala, Lance Taketa, Andrew Feldmann and Joe Phengsavath.

Unlike the historic 50th Mid-Pac Open, which saw females competing for the first time, there's none this year. "No one applied," said Mike Kawaharada, the tournament chairman.

Stephanie Kono and Anna Jang, both of Punahou School, were given special exemptions if they competed, not as amateurs, but in the professional flight. Kono, who made the cut, is now a freshman at UCLA, while Jang, who's now a senior, missed the cut. Apparently, there were no takers for the pro-only requirement by the host country club.

But it's Fujikawa who's in the spotlight this week.