Ryo Ishikawa Poised to Pounce at the Mizuno Open

撮影：岩井康博  / Photo: Yasuhiro Iwa

Upon his return to Japan last week... after a T30 finish at the US Open...  Ryo Ishikawa spoke with characteristic humility, admitting, "I came to painfully realize just how big of a gap there is between me and the rest of the world"

The Japanese golf star... like golfers, golf journalist and golf fans everywhere... was reacting to Rory McIlroy's huge win Congressional Country Club. "He's close to me in age so it's been incredibly motivating, Ishikawa explained, "I hope I can get to that level myself one day." And at nineteen, I think it's safe to say that Ryo Ishikawa has time on his side.

Ryo is the youngest of the what Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee calls the three R's: Ryo, Rory and Rickie, an ultra-hip, uber-talented triad of young gun golf stars with aliterative forenames.

Tomorrow at the Mizuno Open, the young Mr. Ishikawa will be going into the final round, "poised to pounce", after shooting Saturday's lowest round of the day. Two shots behind the South Korean co-leaders, Kim Kyung-Tae and Bae Sang-Moon, Ryo finds himself in a tie for second with yet another South Korean, Cho Min-Gyu.

The DM I received this morning from my Ryo-afcionado friend Noriko, included a link to the photo above. "I think you love this photo" she wrote tweeted, Ryo got two eagles today."

Ryo Ishikawa Works Towards US Open This Weekend

ゴルフ・笑顔の石川 ~ The Ishikawa Golf Smile

Ryo Ishikawa, may have certainly has the number one most charming smile in golf, but he currently sits at 53 in the World Golf Rankings... which means he'll need a top finish this weekend to be exempt for the US Open at Congressional in June. 

He's playing in the Totoumi Hamamatsu Open this week at Grandee Hamanako Golf Club in Shizuoka, and will go into the second round four back, in a tie for 29th on a crowded leaderboard.

With a scorecard that featured six birdies and two bogies, the teenaged superstar's 68 reflected a "rough driver" and "the touch of exquisite putting" as my Japanese friend put it in an email she sent me this morning.

We'll keep you posted on the results throughout the weekend. As you can imagine we're hoping to see Ryo on the roster at Congressional in June... and I know we're not the only ones.

Source - www.jiji.com, Special Thanks to Noriko & Hiroshi ありがとう