GOLF DIGEST:JAPANESE SCHOOLBOY Ryo Ishikawa, who is already a household name in the land of his birth, will make his debut on the USPGA Tour at next month's Northern Trust Open.
The 17-year-old, widely seen as the potential saviour of the flagging JGTO men’s tour, has been awarded a Commissioner’s foreign exemption to compete in the February 19th-22nd event at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California.
“Ryo Ishikawa attracts Tiger-like attention in Asia and it will be fun for a US audience to see him for the first time,” tournament director Tom Pulchinski said yesterday.
Ishikawa, who helped Asia beat Europe to claim the Royal Trophy earlier this month, became the youngest player to win 100 million yen (€858,000)in a season on the Japanese men’s tour last year.
Nicknamed the “Bashful Prince” because of his unassuming demeanour, he shot to fame in May 2007 when he became the youngest winner on the Japanese circuit at 15 years eight months.
His victory at the Munsingwear Open KSB Cup in a remarkable debut shattered the previous record held by Spain’s Seve Ballesteros, who won the 1977 Japan Open aged 20 years seven months.
The local media were quick to adopt the player and his marketability gave the men’s tour a timely boost at a time when sponsorship and interest were on the wane.
He won his first tournament as a professional golfer in November at the ABC Championship after joining the paid ranks at the start of 2008.
Ishikawa’s pearly white grin has already made him one of the most photographed celebrities in Japan and he is projected to earn at least €8 million in the next few years alone. That figure is likely to soar after he leaves school and devotes more time to the endorsements which have flooded in since last year.
Born in Saitama north of Tokyo, Ishikawa has swiftly risen to 60th in the world rankings, making him the second highest Japanese player after Shingo Katayama (34th).
-THE English Open, due to be played at St Mellion in Cornwall on August 13th-16th and again next season, has been affected by the economic downturn and will not now return to the European Tour until 2011.
Crown Golf, owners of the resort, agreed to the postponement due to difficulties being experienced by third-party developers engaged in building golf homes on the site.
The company’s chief executive officer, Stephen Lewis, said: “We have a long-term agreement with the European Tour to host the English Open, but unfortunately, like many companies, the credit crunch has created additional challenges for our partners engaged in developing the golfers’ accommodation at St Mellion.
“This work involves the building of golf homes essential to the accommodation requirements for the English Open.
“There are other matters that need to be resolved and we would not wish to have building work in progress when the tournament is being played.”
-SEVE Ballesteros has revealed he feels better "day after day" as he prepares for a second course of chemotherapy.
The five-time major winner had tests at La Paz Hospital last week to check on the progress of his recovery. “Fortunately the results were quite good,” Ballesteros said yesterday in a statement on his website.
