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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.
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.
Speaking at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan earlier today, Ryo Ishikawa responded sagely to questions about his recent on-course struggles.
The Japanese superstar... who is not yet twenty... has missed the cut in his last two tournaments and carded an uncharacteristic 12-over 83 in the first round of the Japan Golf Tour Championship. His fans were clearly concerned. So too, I presume, was anyone connected to golf in Japan... in almost any capacity.
Several years ago, you may remember, Ryo Ishikawa became the youngest male ever to win a professional event. It was May of 2007 at the Japan Golf Tour's Munsingwear Open. Only 15 at the time, it was immediately clear that Ishikawa was destined for greatness... and the trajectory his career took during the two years that followed seemed proof of that beyond imagination. In 2008 there was another Japan Tour victory and the player known as the Bashful Prince became the youngest ever to reach the top 100 in the World Golf Rankings. 2009 saw him win four times on the Japan Tour and become the youngest to break the top 50 and 2010 was notable for the Ishikawa's historic 58, at the Crowns. He closed the year with a win at the 2010 Mitsui Sumitomo VISA.
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.
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.
. 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.
He's the uber-adorable golf guy who's become such a HUGE star they had to hire twelve guards to patrol the course when he played recently in his country's Japan Amateur Golf Championship. Yes, the fifteen year old, known affectionately as "the bashful prince" is a newly minted pop culture idol. Newly minted indeed. The fact is, he just burst onto the collective national radar on May 20, when he won the Japan Golf Tour's Munsingwear Open KSB Cup, spectacularly, with a come-from-behind seven-birdie final round of 66. The youngest ever to win that event... And the disarming smile... What's not to like? The fervor has only grown since, building up to this week's Junior World, where Ishikawa will compete for the first time, in the 15-to 17-year-old Division, today through Friday at Torrey Pines. We'll see what transpires there, but no matter how well he plays, there's no doubt he'll be attracting more than his share of paparazzi. After all, it's their job to feed Japan's current Ryo hunger.
The young Mr.Ishikawa seems to be handling his new found fame well, but because of the massive crowds he now attracts, he's had to curtail one of his favorite hobbies; shopping. I guess he'll just have to order his golf clothes on-line from now on. Oh, the high price of golf stardom.
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.
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 -->
The shade was bubblegum... but not just any bubblegum, I'm talking the really bright kind. As in, Bubblicious Strawberry Splash.
That however, was California, the birthplace of Malibu Barbie. Clearly Scotland calls for something more understated... with perhaps a touch of tartan.
Well, at St. Andrews earlier this week Ryo once again stepped up to the proverbial plate tee. During a practice round on the Old Course he wore a pink-on-pink ensemble that seemed inspired by a Victorian tea party... up-to-and-including the tartan table cloth. The only things missing were tea cakes and teddy bears. ~ And that's what I love about Ryo. The fact that he wears whimsical so well.
Today's first round found our Bashful Prince in a more conservative mood. Playing with Tom Watson and Padraig Harrington, the Japanese prodigy sported solid white trousers and a wind-shirt in the color Crayola calls Cornflower. Sartorially speaking, it may not have been Ryo's most exciting look but he finished the round with a respectable -4. ~ And I can hardly wait to see what he does wears tomorrow.
"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!!!"
Earlier this week in Japan's Miyage Prefecture... where many have been living in shelters since the disastrous earthquake and tsunami... the "Bashful Prince" and other JGTO players, served shaved ice topped with flavored syrup after entertaining the area's children with a session of SNAG golf. The Japanese golfers were in the disaster zone to show their support for those most affected by it. Additionally Mr. Ishikawa will be donating all of his earnings this your to disaster relief... and he's currently on top of Japan's money list.
The following day Ryo was off to the much chillier climate: that of of Kent, UK to play in the Open Championship.
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.
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.
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.
These are certainly some... interesting... times for Ryo Ishikawa.
Over the weekend, the 20-year-old Japanese superstar recorded his second career hole-in-one and came tantalizingly close to defending his title at the Taiheiyo Masters golf championship. In the end an untimely encounter with a water hazard on 18 resulted in a T8 finish for Ryo.
It would have been an awesome win on a number of levels. At second on the Japan Tour money list, Ishikawa has yet to win this year, and because he'll be playing in Australia at the President's Cup this week he's got only two events left in which to claim a 2011 victory.
And speaking of Australia, remember how Ryo was going to introduce the world to his mysterious girlfriend this week in Melbourne? Apparently that's not going to happen. It seems the media frenzy has only gotten frothier since the girlfriend story broke... to the extent that it now includes rumors of pregnancy. While Japan's version of the National Enquirer is no-doubt delighted with these developments this last minute change in plans seems to have been made to avoid the marauding media.
And the latest Bashful Prince buzz? It's now all about the Ishikawa late arrival in Australia.
Super-stardom does have a downside. Fortunately, Ryo Ishikawa seems capable of handling just about anything.
Early this week Ryo Ishikawa officially "came of age". In Japan the second Monday of January is "Coming of Age Day", a special holiday day where those who've reached 20, the age of majority, are celebrated with festivities, ceremonies and parties.
Soon after the celebration the intrepid young golfer was heading to Hawaii for the Sony Open which begins tomorrow. In the meantime, an intense ten hour practice round at Waialea Golf Club golf course seemed to demonstrate that the hardworking Japanese superstar had paid little heed to the words of Lee Westwood who a couple of weeks ago suggested that Ishikawa was "far too intense" and "needed to get away from golf more".
The young phenom will be paired with Webb Simpson and K.J. Choi at Sony, and it's a pretty sure bet they'll be one of the most followed groups.
The Golf Channel's Randall Mell suggested that the "Bashful Prince" was in golf's "hot seat" as he hasn't yet proved himself on US soil. While some readers agreed with that assessment, many disagree, citing his myriad wins in Japan... and his youth. In any case, lots of us are expecting (and looking forward to) a Ryo Ishikawa PGA Tour win in 2012.
As one commenter perceptively wrote, I think a win by a Ryo Ishikawa will do the world of golf a lot of good.
Note: Many thanks to Noriko, a friend and an avid Ryo Ishikawa fan in Japan.
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.
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.
Tim Clark - I've been a fan of the tenacious South African for a while now, but I never knew he had a posse till I met the awesome Reluctant Jam Boy and he hooked me up with Tim Clark's Posse. I put my Tim Clark posse shirt on last night in support of my first U.E.& Q. pick. Some were skeptical but the way I see it Tim played Pebble Beach in 6 under during the AT&T in February and he's second on tour in driving accuracy, third in putting accuracy. And he's got a posse. Miguel Angel Jimenez - He personifies unconventional. Does a pretty good job with Eclectic and Quirky too. Ten years ago MAJ finished second at Pebble Beach. And as Mark Reason wrote in Telegraph.co.uk, "...there is plenty of evidence that a precise, shorter-hitting player who can shape the ball and has a great short game can win."
Tiger Woods - Neither Unconventional, Eclectic nor Quirky, despite his lackluster (for him) play of late, Tiger is still the odds-on favorite so technically he doesn't really fit the U.E.& Q. mold, however something about the way things are right now makes him fit right into the vibe of my list.
Sergio Garcia - When I mention him as a pick I generally get sighs of resignation that seem to ask: "When are you going to just let it go?" and my answer to that is "As soon as he wins a major," because even though his game has been somewhat abysmal of late, I know he'll get his major eventually, and I definitely intend to be there for it. Ryo Ishikawa - Multichromatic "Mr. 58" has admitted that his goal at Pebble Beach will simply be to make the cut. However I happen to think he's underrating himself, and I'm convinced that if the planets are correctly aligned there's nothing the bashful prince can't do. And in any case, he's always fun to watch.
So there you are. My Unconventional, Eclectic & Quirky US Open Picks ... Done.
