Hawaii-born Fujikawa came out in 2018 having made his name in 2006 by becoming the youngest qualifier for the US Open
Growing up in Honolulu, Tadd Fujikawa didn’t want to be a professional golfer. He took it up because he was training to be a judoka and he thought it would help him strengthen his grip. But then he got the itch, and switched. He was good, too, so good that in 2006 he became the youngest player ever to qualify for the US Open. He was 15 years old, and 5ft tall, and the rough at Winged Foot almost seemed to reach his knees. He shot 81 and 77. “It was such a lot of fun,” he said. It still is. “I feel like I love golf because more than any other game it helps bring out your true character,” he says, only, all these years he’s been playing it, he kept a part of his inner self hidden.
Last September, Fujikawa came out. He’s the first, and only, openly gay golfer on the men’s professional circuit. “I didn’t really have to do it,” he says, “but I know from my experience just how much it helped me seeing other stories like mine, how it helped me move past my fears and struggles, how knowing that I wasn’t alone gave me a lot of hope.” He wanted to give someone else that same help. “Even if it’s just one person, it will be worth it.”
Written by Andy Bull at Augusta
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/apr/10/tadd-fujikawa-accepted-enjoying-golf-life-coming-out under the title “‘Accepted’ Tadd Fujikawa enjoying golf and life again after coming out”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
