Ryo Ishikawa - Grace, Game & A Growing US Fanbase

Ryo Ishikawa - Bridgestone Invitational / Photo: AP

I was on my way out of Akron when I received the photo at left in a message from my Japanese friend, Noriko.  With it she wrote:

"Ryo has played greatly ! Hope he plays well at the final round. I believe you like his cute smile below ..."

Heading north on OH-8 N towards Twinsburg, the midwestern landscape simmered in the steamy late afternoon sunlight.  I wasn't in Ohio for the tournament... I was actually attending  a somewhat peculiar  a uniquely interesting international convention for twins...  but that's a whole nother story.   

When I found out I'd be able to fit in several hours at the Bridgestone Invitational on Saturday I jumped at the chance, and that turned out to be the day Ryo Ishikawa fired off the bogey-free six-under par 64 that put him into solo second place behind Adam Scott who eventually lifted the trophy... and Scott was stellar... that's for sure.  Rickie Fowler was superlative as well, finishing in a tie for second with world number one Luke Donald.  Another impressive Aussie, Jason Day, shared the T-4 spot with Ryo.  But it was the "Bashful Prince" who stole the spotlight... and grew his US fan base substantially... on Saturday.

If you read this blog you know I'm a huge Ishikawa fan. I first wrote about Ryo over four years ago as he prepared to compete in Junior World at Torrey Pines.  Since then the Japanese teenager has appeared in the pages of Golf Girl's Diary over fifty times... to the extent that some have suggested I rename the blog "Ryo Ishikawa's US Fan Club".   I haven't done that, but as PGA Championship week gets underway here are a couple of my Ryo posts from years past.

Welcome Back to America Ryo Ishikawa

Ryo Style - Ishikawa Awesomeness at the HSBC Champions

Adoring Female Fans Covet Ryo Ishikawa's Balls

Everyone Loves Ryo - ハニカミ王子 - Golf's "It Boy"

Remarkable Ryo Ishikawa - Best Dressed Golfer of 2009

Ryo Revival: Ishikawa Gets A Long Awaited Win & A British Open Entrée

Relentlessly Stylish Ryo           photo: callawayapparel.jp

At first glance, age 22 would seem preposterously young to be talking about relaunching a career, but for some of today's professional golfers, the concept is not so far fetched. They take up the game as children and achieve early success; winning on increasingly important stages, collecting ever more impressive trophies and piling up precocity records. 


Youthful achievers fascinate fans, and as a result they often inspire the proverbial "media frenzy", which brings with it the prospect of lucrative sponsorship deals. 


But precipitous fame can be distracting, and a global golf career implies an exhausting travel schedule. Then comes the inevitable winless spell.

The stretch can last a year or two... or ten... it can come after multiple major wins or a handful of tournament victories, but either way, it's a burden for the player to bear. Once the long awaited win finally comes we hear the word relaunch... even when the player in question is implausibly young. 
This is certainly the case for one of our favorite golfers... a golfer we've written about on many occasions: Japan's Ryo Ishikawa.

As a 15 year old amateur... in his first tour appearance... he won the Munsingwear Open KSB and became the youngest ever to win on the Japanese Men's Tour.   From there, his rise was meteoric; Ryo Ishikawa was soon being called Japan's Tiger Woods and hailed as the face of golf in Japan.

The ensuing years brought multiple wins on the Japan Tour, and in 2008 the newly christened Bashful Prince became the youngest player ever to reach the top 100 of the Official World Golf rankings, in 2009, the youngest ever to reach the top 50.  MORE -->

Ryo Ishikawa: Of Milestone Birthdays and Growing Pains

お誕生日おめでとうございます 石川 遼

Ryo Ishikawa, the Japanese teen we've been watching for almost five years is turning twenty.

When he first caught our attention almost five years ago. It was the summer of 2007 and "The Bashful Prince" was a newly minted fifteen-year-old pop culture icon,  having recently become the youngest winner ever of a men's tournament on the Japan Tour.

With a whimsical nickname and a disarming smile, he soon made his way to the international stage, turning professional in 2008,  and by the end of that year becoming the youngest player ever to reach the top 100 of the Official World Golf Rankings.  US golf fans discovered the young phenom in 2009 when he played in PGA Tour tournaments for the first time.

A series of impressive achievements followed as Ryo made his way to the top of the global "Promising Young Guns" shortlist.  It sometimes seemed like nothing could go wrong this precocious trajectory to the top... but... it was sort of inevitable there'd be some growing pains somewhere along the way.

Ryo Romance has golf journos "exceeding social norms"

Ryo At the Canon Open, Oct 2011  • • •  Photo by Sankei via Getty Images

At barely twenty, Ryo Ishikawa has already had more experience with the press than most players ever will, and he's often been praised for the grace with which he handles the throngs of reporters who track his every move.

Recently however things have been getting a bit out of hand. To the extent that the youthful golf champion's manager... who also happens to be his Mom... felt it necessary to release a statement yesterday.

The unusual statement got right to the point: "There exists a woman whom Ryo Ishikawa is going out with".

It seems the ultra-endearing "Bashful Prince" has a girlfriend.  She's actually a classmate from junior high school and the relationship's been going on for almost three years.  Rumor has it the lucky lass will be officially introduced at the Presidents Cup in Melbourne next month.  Meanwhile the story is creating a media frenzy in Japan.

It's gotten to the point where family, friends and sponsors of the superstar golfer have been bothered by "news-gathering activities exceeding social norms in the form of making surprise night-time visits and shadowing."

My good friend Norikio... always an excellent source for breaking golf news out of Japan... told me there were four security guards shadowing Ryo on the course recently,  which must be extremely distracting.  And there can be little doubt that fan frenzy, media madness and subsequent security needs will only increase as the President's Cup approaches and this story develops.

Meanwhile, the Japanese Tour heads to the ABC Golf Club this week for the Mynavi ABC Championship where Ryo Ishikawa has a stellar history.  He won the tournament in 2008, and was runner-up last year.  Right now Ryo is going for his first win of the season... and we're hoping he'll get it here. 

At Golf Girl's Diary, the self-proclaimed headquarters of the US Branch of the Ryo Ishikawa Fan Club, we wish Ryo... and his young fiancée... the best.

Everyone Loves Ryo - ハニカミ王子 - Golf's "It Boy"

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The dust has settled on the Presidents Cup and professional golfers have gone off in various directions for a couple of months. Some we'll easily forget about. Others however, we're not quite ready to relinquish. From what I've seen in my on-line golf browsing today Ryo Isikawa is current poster boy for that sentiment.

But the youngster, who over the weekend in San Francisco impressed the best in the game, not to mention golf scribes and bloggers everywhere, is headed back to his native Japan.

And Japan will surely want to keep him in Japan as much as possible and for as long as they can... because basically, they're counting on the kid for the future of golf in their country.

In much the same way it's often said that Tiger Woods carries golf on his shoulders here, In Japan the destiny of the entire sport has been placed precariously on Ryo Ishikawa's rather slender frame.

In the 1990s the Japan Golf Tour was the third richest, after the PGA and European Tours, but in recent years its number of tournaments has been steadily contracting from a peak of 44 in 1990 to only 24 in 2008, and tournament purses have hardly risen at all.

Though the President's Cup would seem to mark Ryo's breakthrough moment in the US, he recently captured his sixth career win on the Japan Tour, and he's at the top of the money list there. In 2007 when he was just 15, Ryo won the Japan Tour's KSB Cup as an amateur, and became the youngest winner of any event on the world's six Major. I first wrote about him then as he arrived in the US for Junior World, at Torrey Pines.

Ryo's mercurial rise in golf has been mirrored by his rise as a Japanese pop-culture icon, so his influence is massive. Anyone in Japan with an interest in reviving men's golf would strongly encourage Ryo to... well, just not to be in too much of hurry to buy a house in Florida or Arizona.

Regarding his future, he himself made it clear that for the time being, he'll be playing in Japan. And some would say, judging from his performance in the majors over the summer, it'll be some time before he's truly ready for the world stage. However, scheduling conflicts are already beginning to emerge. His recent win at The Tokai Classic made him eligible to play at the HSBC Champions in Shanghai on November 5-8... and one of Ishikawa's sponsors, Toyota, is holding domestic event in the same week. Ooops. Word has it the bashful Prince is, "...considering taking part in the HSBC Champions." ~ A prospect that's got to be welcome news for the world's growing base of Ryo watchers.

Japanese Fans Take Comfort in Ryo's Message Home

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Several days ago Ryo Ishikawa posted a message on his blog for the people of Japan.  One of my Japanese friends, Noriko Imano, told me about it and supplied her translation.

Even though I'm in the US, I can feel that people in Japan keep calm and cooperate closely. 
I'm very proud of this as a Japanese, from the bottom of my heart. 
At the same time, I've been thinking what I can do as a professional golfer. 
I'm far from Japan now, but I'd like to send words to encourage people in Japan who are fighting fears. 
When you wish very strong, it surely comes true. 
If everyone tries his best for what he/she has to do, good things will happen finally. 
I really believe so.
This is the time when Japan and the world should be tied closely.

For Noriko... and for the other Japanese people I've spoken with...  this message was both comforting and inspiring.  It resonated with both young and old... in cities and in the countryside.

Over the past several days, the international press has collectively marveled at the Japanese sense of community and connectedness.  Many have noted the absence of disorder, looting and lawlessness because in most of the rest of the world the reaction to disaster has looked quite different.

On September 11, 2001 I was working for the US branch of a French fine art publishing company. We had dozens of clients in downtown Manhattan, some just blocks from where the World Trade Center stood. I called each one of them in the dark days that followed the collapse of the twin towers and, one after another, they told me that their main concern in the wake of the of the attacks, was looting.   Some resisted leaving their shops despite the chalky dust that that lined the streets and hung in the air and acrid smoke from the still-burning rubble.  By the time I made my way down to see these clients several days later, the dusty streets had been cordoned off and the National Guard had been brought in to provide security.  I passed through check points to get to the small galleries and shops and visit with the beleaguered shopkeepers.  Ultimately, there were few reports of lawlessness the aftermath of 9/11... and many stories of courage and kindness... but the fear of looting was very real, and many of the natural disasters that occurred in the decade that followed 9/11... in widely disparate countries...  produced reports of looting and price gauging. 

Japanese culture, and the way the Japanese people are handling this monumental disaster... their  civility, equanimity and respect for order... has become a huge part of the story these last days and the calm cooperation that Ryo referenced with pride in his message home, has captured the attention of the world. 
  
Earlier today I received a message from Noriko that linked me to an article in Golf Digest Online, Japan. It featured the above photo from yesterday's Pro-Am at the Transitions Championship . 

"Here is Ryo at Pro-Am in Ryo's color. According to the article of Golfdigest, during Pro-Am, Ryo's driver shots were not very good, so, he practiced driver at the practice range till 7pm. He was the last person who left the range."

Editor's Note: If you read this blog regularly, you probably know I've been Ryo fan for years.  In fact I first wrote about him almost four years ago as he prepared to compete at Junior World and I've written him dozens of times since. It's been awesome to see him do so well.  Ai Miyazato, Mika Miyazato, Makoto Takemura and Ryo's sister Yoko among them.  I love Japanese golf fashion and accessories too and had been planning to get over there this summer.  That may have to be put off for a bit  but in the meantime I'm working on a couple of  great ideas for supporting Japan and the Japanese people. I'll keep you posted.

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."

お誕生日おめでとうございます 石川 遼

"Happy birthday, Ryo-san :D"

"I so love you Ryo ~ ♥"

"かわいい happy birthday *<:-P"

"Happy Birthday!! ずっと応援してます!! I love your smile(^^)"

"I love everything about you Ryo and you're so handsome! I hope to see you one day,cause you make me scream whenever I see you, I LOVE YOU!!!! =DDDDDDD"

"I love your trousers! youre awesome!"

"Happy Birthday to you ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ Happy Birthday to you ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ Happy Birthday ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ Dear Ryo ♥ ♥ ♥ Happy Birthday to you ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ and many more ♪♫•*¨*...•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪...♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪...♥ ♫♪...♪♫ Its your special day, so don’t forget the SMILES!!!!"

Such are the birthday greetings that appear on your facebook page when you're sweet and whimsical... and Japan's top-ranked professional golfer. ~ Then there was this:

"おめでとぉ(*´∀｀*) Happy Birthday"!! r u 20?"

No, not yet. Ryo Ishikawa turns 19 today... which is hard to believe when you consider how much he's accomplished. True, Ryo started to rack up the records early:

2007 - became the youngest winner on the men's Japan Golf Tour at 15 (Munsingwear Open KSB Cup)

2008 - bacame the youngest player ever to reach the top 100 of the Official World Golf Rankings

2009 - bacame the youngest player ever to reach the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings

2010 - carded the lowest score ever on any major golf tour, a 58, at The Crowns a Japan Golf Tour event.

Those are just a few of the precocious prizes the bashful prince has claimed in less than two decades on earth. As one fan said:

"Happy Birthday Ryo!!! Hope you have a great year!!!"

Ishikawa Incident Illustrates Cultural Dichotomy

Photo: AFP/File, Yoshikazu Tsuno

Ryo Ishikawa, one of our favorite golfers, recently had an issue with his driving. It didn't happen on the golf course, and it has nothing to do with distance, in fact, at the 2011 Masters the Japanese superstar was ranked fifth in driving distance.

What happened to Ryo, was the kind of thing that happens to many 19-year-olds: He got into trouble for an infraction that took place behind the wheel.

Meet MiniKawa: Ryo Ishikawa's Cute New Club Cover

Photo: Yoshihiro Iwamoto

If you happen to be in Nagoya Japan this week for the Coca Cola Tokai Classic, you may notice a cute little guy in blue tagging along behind superstar golfer Ryo Ishikawa.

Well that would be MiniKawa, latest addition to the Bashful Prince's club cover collection.   With spiky black hair, a visor and cool looking Swans he's clearly another Ryo wannabe... and on the fairways and greens of Miyoshi Country Club he'll protecting his idol's equipment... so to speak.

However, covering Ryo's club is just a part-time gig for the diminuative MiniKawa.  He's actually a full-time mascot for Aquarius, an ultra-popular sports drink manufactured by The Coca-Cola Company and promoted by Japan's top athletes, including the amazing Japanese women's soccer team and the "Three Kings": star swimmer Kosuke Kitajima, stellar soccer midfielder Keisuke Honda and of course, the awesome Ishikawa, Ryo.

Ryo Ishikawa Shows Amazing Strength at Doral

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Here at Golf Girl's Diary our Ryo Ishikawa obsession is well known.

Normally our stories are light-hearted; we write about Ryo's whimsical outfits or his delightfully quirky commercials. He even made a certain Sexiest Men in Golf list recently.

The combination of his stellar on-course accomplishments and his superlative star quality make Ryo Ishikawa a uniquely entertaining professional golfer.

Today however, the eyes of the golf media are collectively focused on Ryo Ishikawa as news of devastating natural disasters in Japan makes its way to our shores and to the fairways of TPC Blue Monster at Doral.

In Miami at the WGC Cadillac Championship... amazingly... the one they call "Hanikami Ōji" heard the devastating news this morning, checked on the safety of his loved ones,  then finished his first round at 7-under 65, in second place.

Ryo has a tough weekend ahead of him as he battles the Blue Monster and deals with the unfolding news of the tragedy in his homeland,  but no matter how the tournament turns out, his strength will surely be an inspiration to his fellow golfers and to golf fans everywhere.

Photo: by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images North America

Welcome Back to America Ryo Ishikawa. We ♥ You !

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Whimsically wonderful Ryo Ishikawa is back on US shores, and not a moment too soon.

While the PGA Tour struggles with a simmering scandal and a weighty rules issue, the young Japanese champion will bring a welcome breath of fresh air... and a rainbow of riotous color... to the 2010 Northern Trust Open later this week.

Ryo actually arrived several days ago, to indulge in one of his all time favorite hobbies: shopping. He's hit at least one California mall and been spotted at In-N-Out Burger. Talk about living the Southern California lifestyle.

The last time Ryo was stateside, was in October, as one of Greg Norman's two captain's selections for the International Presidents Cup team. He was the youngest player ever on a President's Cup team and won three matches at that event... including the famous one against Kenny Perry. Meanwhile, he also became Japan's youngest ever money list winner.

Never short on style, Mr. Ishikawa's English was somewhat limited when he was here last year, obliging him to speak through a translator most of the time and perpetuating his reputation as the bashful prince. But rumor has it he's been working with a language coach and is determined to answer questions in English this time around. That would definitely delight his growing contingent of US fans and with golf growing globally, it's a sound business decision too.

OK so here's the thing. I may be posting about Ryo Ishikawa a lot... like, tons... in the coming days. He's that fun. For now, courtesy of top global golf news source, Mostly Harmless, here's Ryo playing in a type of Japanese Big Break with some other awesome Japanese stars. Cuteness personified.



Photos by Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images AsiaPac

Ryo Ishikawa Has A Birthday... and Earns His 2014 PGA Tour Card

Several years ago he was known as the Bashful Prince, a talented teenage golfer who stormed to the summit of fame in his native Japan and delighted fans everywhere with his sweet, shy smile.

Ryo Ishikawa played his first PGA Tour events in 2009.  Trailed by a constant crowd of Japanese journalists, his abilities impressed many as he lit up the fairways with a whimsical candy-colored wardrobe.

Expectations for the precocious phenom were stratospheric. By the Spring of 2010 more than a few golf scribes were looking for one of golf's alliterative young guns... Rory, Rickie or Ryo... to quickly become that mythical entity known as "the next Tiger".  In retrospect those predictions seem somewhat silly; here we are in waning months of 2013 and Tiger's just captured both the PGA of America's Player of the Year Award and the Vardon Trophy... for the 11th and 9th time, respectively. Even the most committed Tiger detractors seem to accept that we probably won't see "the next Tiger" any time in the forseeable future. Ever.

Rugged Ryo Returns - 米国に石川遼を返します

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Did you ever think you'd see Ryo Ishikawa in a lumberjack shirt?

Neither did I, but that's just what he was wearing yesterday, layered under a black puffer vest.  The scene was  Narita Airport  and Ryo was enroute to the USA... where he'll be playing in a number of events leading up to The Masters.

The PGA Tour season actually started a few weeks ago, but as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't begin to feel like spring until the whimsical Mr. Ishikaw arrives on our shores with his awesome talent in tow... and an army of Japanese paparazzi following along.

Though the precocious Japanese mega-star hasn't yet turned twenty, it seems like I've be writing about him for years.   When it comes to golf apparel, Ryo style is all about exuberant color.  His outfits and his equipment is Yonex, and he's partial to pink ... and blue, green, red, yellow, orange, etc... and he wears them all well.  I look forward to the multi-chromatic display that'll begin when he hits the fairways of Rivera Country Club in a couple of weeks at the Northern Trust Open.

If you're a fan of the Bashful Prince, you're probably still a bit incredulous about his rugged, wintery logger-look and dark monochromatic layering.  Here's a video clip from yesterday's press conference for a closer look.  Ryo's been quoted as saying he's determined to show people "show people what a Japanese golfer can do in the Masters"  to that end he's been working with a personal trainer ... and it looks like he's bulked up a bit.



Many thanks once again to my awesome friend Noriko for keeping me posted on Ryo's whereabouts.

Ryo Ishikawa - Words Worth Remembering for 2012

    Ryo Ishikawa         Photo: Khalid Redza /Asian Tour via Getty Images

If you read this blog... even occasionally... you probably know that Japanese golfer Ryo Ishikawa is a favorite of ours.  We love the quiet reserve that earned him the nickname "Bashful Prince" ...and the exhuberantly colorful sartorial style that had one writer calling him "The Pink Pantster"

2011 was a challenging year for the young champion both on and off the course. He finished the season winless, and at 51 in the world, one spot shy of earning automatic qualification for the Masters.

He'll now need to make the top 50 a week before the Masters, or win on the U.S. PGA Tour, to qualify for a spot in the field at Augusta. To that end the player who was recently called "too intense"  by W#2 Lee Westwood, will be playing very... intensively between now and April.

When epic natural disaster struck his native Japan almost a year ago, the then-19-year-old announced that he would donate all of his golf earnings for 2011 to the Japan relief fund.  I don't know exactly how much that ended up being but by mid-October it was approaching $1.5 million.  It was what he said about his donation however, that earned Ryo Ishikawa a place on business writer Jena McGregor's list of the past year's most inspiring leadership quotes: 

“As my social status in Japan is getting higher, I believe that is one of the responsibilities, to provide for those people who are in need." – golfer Ryo Ishikawa, on his decision to donate all of his 2011 earnings to earthquake relief in Japan.

Ryo Style - Ishikawa Awesomeness at HSBC Champions

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He's T8 on the leaderboard going into the final round at the HSBC Champions, and that, by any measure, is impressive. ~ But when you consider that the field includes the world's best... and when you remember that Ryo Ishikawa just turned 18 it becomes particularly notable.

However, it's the kid's whimsical fashion sense that is once again winning me over. Yesterday the uber-stylish Yonex golf guy wore pink. In his own inimitable way.

Live coverage of the HSBC Champions final round begins at 10:00PM (ET) on the Golf Channel, and with a Woods-Mickelson duel on the menu the excitement level is going to be way high. Like everyone else, I'm looking forward to that... and of course I can't wait to see what Ryo's wearing.

And... PGATour.com is asking, Ryo vs Rory: Who's the most promising? As of this moment it looks like the consensus is that it's Ryo by just a bit.
















Ryo Ishikawa Photographs : Scott Halleran/Getty Images ✿

Ryo Ishikawa on Marrying Young, Juggling Golf and Family

Ryo Ishikawa (Photo by Issei Sakakibara)

In the final installment of "Straight Talk With Ryo"... his revealing column for The Asahi Shimbun... Japan's top golfer discusses his decision to "get married early".

As you may remember, news broke last year that the once Bashful Prince had gotten engaged to a former Junior High School classmate, creating something of a media frenzy.

In this remarkably honest piece the Japanese champion reveals that as far back as 2007... when he was just 15-years-old... he was becoming aware the eventual challenges of creating a quality family life in the intense world of professional golf.

Ryo Ishikawa is only twenty but he displays, in his column, the "maturity-beyond-his-years", that we've witnessed since he won the Munsingwear Open five years ago, becoming the youngest winner ever on the Japan Golf Tour .

The legendary Ishikawa integrity does not however preclude a romantic spirit that also comes through in his writing.  When explaining his decision to marry young he says, simply "I’ve always felt that my fiancee is the only woman I could imagine marrying".

We'll be seeing a lot of Ryo Ishikawa on this side of the Atlantic in the coming weeks. A schedule that includes this week's Crown Plaza Invitational, The Memorial Tournament, the Fedex St. Jude Classic and The US Open at The Olympic Club, will give the newly-fianced golf star and his bride-to-be a kind of dress rehearsal for what the future might hold.

The final stop on this US swing will be the Travelers Championship here in CT where we'll be looking forward to see our favorite golfer competing at TPC River Highlands for the first time.

Thank you again Noriko Imano for your unique insights... and if you'd like to read more about Ryo, we've got a lot.

Tiger's Beard, Ryo's "Makiroi" & Golf Guy Grooming

Tiger Woods, photo:Getty Images / / / / / / / / / Ryo Ishikawa, Photo: スポニチ

The Tiger Woods facial hair story is a couple of days old now, and while it's never officially trended on Twitter,  it has generated... and continues to generate... a steady stream of commentary/discussion.

Tiger Woods' Beard even has its own facebook page... and has been described by sports writers in a variety of creative ways, including "some kinda beard thing", "somewhere between a full beard and some chinstraps", and a sexy scruff. 

Golf fans and media types alike have clearly been intrigued and entertained by the recent Tiger transfiguration.  

Remarkable Ryo Ishikawa - Best Dressed Golfer of 2009

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The above tableau presents just a few of the creative color combinations worn by Japan's phenomenal young star, Ryo Ishikawa.

The captivating colors of Ryo... are pure and bold. And they leave no doubt about the shy golfer's underlying confidence. Though never pompous or haughty, the soft spoken seventeen year old doesn't hesitate to take chances with his strong style statements.

When the superlative Shane Bacon asked me to weigh in on "golf's most fashionable in 2009" for a series on the best of 2009 at Fanhouse, I immediately thought of the one they call "the Bashful Prince".

Ryo's English is still very limited, but as the video below illustrates he is attempting to learn... and in the meantime, not afraid to try. And if you're puzzling over the pronunciation of his name, Ryo shows you how it's done.

Adoring Female Fans Covet Ryo Ishikawa's Balls

OK, I'll admit it, I've developed a bit of a Ryo Ishikawa obsession over the past couple of months. I love his colorful personal style and charming shyness, and I've discussed both on the pages of this blog. Over-discussed, some might say. But true Ryo fans...and I know there are lots of them out there...can't get enough of the Bashful Prince.

In fact, RyoMania has reached outrageous new levels in Japan. To the extent that it practically derailed the Japan Open on Sunday. At the sixth hole young Ryo hit a slightly errant tee shot. It veered towards a section where spectators were gathered and suddenly an enraptured female fan just grabbed the ball... before it had even stopped rolling. Apparently there was a minor riot when other fans tried to intervene... the guilty groupie panicked... screaming ensued the story is here. It illustrates a possible downside to rock star popularity. And I think Ryo's going to have to get used to it.