October 14, 2009 – Torrance, CA
Yonex Tour Professional and teenage phenom Ryo Ishikawa finished his first career appearance at the Presidents Cup in exciting fashion, by defeating PGA Tour veteran and 2009 Masters runner-up, Kenny Perry 2 & 1 in Singles play on Sunday. Ishikawa finished with The 2009 Presidents Cup with a 3-2 record, earning a total of 3 points tying him for the International team lead with Ernie Els.
Though the United States went on to win the 2009 Presidents Cup 19 1/2 to 14 1/2 over the International squad, the young Ishikawa opened a lot of eyes in the media, the general public, and most importantly, his peers.
At 18 years, 21 days old, Ryo Ishikawa became the youngest player ever to compete in The Presidents Cup when he teed off on day one teamed with Geoff Ogilvy in Foursomes play against the No. 1 and No. 3 ranked players in the world, Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker.
In a what ended up being a match that the US team would easily win 6 & 4, International Team Captain Greg Norman took the positive approach when asked about the match. “Ryo and Geoff to get up against Tiger and Steve, it was a bit of a buzzsaw for them. But that’s part of the stepping stones that we have to go through. I thought Ryo did a great job in holding his poise and his calmness during the whole thing,” Norman said.
“This format of the foursomes, it’s tough, it’s tough rules, but we did our best. We tried hard. Even though we finished 6 & 4, we definitely didn’t play to that result. I think the USA team just played unbelievable, and Geoff and I played our best,” Ishikawa added.
On day two, Norman decided to pair Ishikawa with ’09 PGA Champion, Y.E. Yang. The Asian duo where set to face, Kenny Perry and Sean O’Hair in Fourball play. Right out the box, the Internationals lead 2up through the first two holes and never trailed, Ishikawa and Yang defeated Perry and O’Hair 4 & 3.
When asked what it was like to have Ryo as a teammate, Yang responded, “He’s young, but he definitely doesn’t play young. I told him on the first tee that we should have fun and we did have fun, and we had a win, as well.”
Day three, Saturday morning, tee-time 8:15am. For the second day and second match in a row, Ishikawa was paired with Yang, they are to face Kenny Perry and Zach Johnson in Foursome play. Ishikawa and Yang again jump out to a 1up lead after the first hole. Again they never trail, they win the match 3 & 2.
“From yesterday, Y.E.’s leadership has been great. He’s like an older brother and he’s been really great,” Ishikawa said. “It’s been really nice to have Y.E. around. I was more relaxed with his leadership. I think that’s why we have been able to do well and have an impact.”
In the afternoon Fourball match, Ishikawa and Yang where assigned the task of trying to tame the hottest team in the event, Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker. Woods would end up being a spectator during the match, as Stricker went on to make eight birdies in 16 holes, securing a 4 & 2 victory for the American team.
“He’s (Ryo) by far much more developed in his game than I ever was at 18,” said Woods.
“I was longer (hitting) than he is, but I certainly did not have the ability to hit shots like he does. It’s quite remarkable what he’s done, and the poise in how he goes about it, and at his age. It’s unheard of.”
The most interesting match on the final day of the Presidents Cup, paired the event’s youngest player, Ishikawa (18 years old) against the oldest, Kenny Perry (49 years old). This would be the players third time facing each other at the event (Ishikawa teamed with Yang to beat Perry & O’Hair in Fourball on Friday, the Asian duo also defeated Perry & Johnson in Foursomes on Saturday). Ryo went on to win a hard fought match against Perry 2 & 1.
When asked about his thoughts on the Presidents Cup, Ishikawa’s remarkable maturity shined though, “When Greg first picked me to be on this team, I didn’t know if I was worthy to be a part of this team. But when I got here and all of the players looked after me, talked to me, gave me a lot of support, and that really helped me throughout this week,” Ishikawa said. “I just want to thank the captains and all of the players for all of the wonderful support and all of the help that they gave me so I could play this week.”
Greg Norman said it best when he was asked what he thought of Ryo Ishikawa’s performance. “This gentleman, you have no idea the amount of poise he’s got. He only turned 18 a month ago. And for him to be able to walk to the first tee on Thursday like he did and to never expect the reception like he expected; the first tee at The Presidents Cup, especially at Harding Park, it’s a very confined space and there’s a lot of things happening, people yelling, screaming, cameras going off and everything like that, it can really hit you in the forehead. But the way he conducted himself and handled himself right from the very first moment he’s walked onto the golf course and into the team room, you know, we have embraced him and he’s embraced us,” Norman said.
“That’s the spirit that we talk about with the International Team. And he’s a young kid that we have all sat back and read about for months and months and months about how good he is, and playing well in Japan and winning in Japan is great, but stepping up to the plate on the big stage and getting thrown to the wolves against Tiger Woods on Thursday, and then to bounce back the way he’s bounced back; there’s not too many, you’ve got to be in the sport to know how good that is, and you have to be a player to know how good that is.”
In Ryo’s Bag
Driver – Yonex Nano V Nextage Type 430
#3 Wood – Yonex Nano V Nextage Type St
#2 Iron – Yonex Nano V Nextage Tour Forged Prototype
#3- 9, PW – Yonex Nano V Nextage Tour Forged
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Contact:
Will Carswell
Yonex Corporation USA
(424) 201-4855
wcarswell@yonexusa.net
