The Next Tiger Woods?

[proazn]

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegrap...001023,00.html


Ryo rules the course at 15

May 22, 2007 12:00

JAPAN has gone golf crazy for a 15-year-old boy who is the youngest person to win a major golf tournament in the country.

Ryo Ishikawa, previously an unknown amateur, on Sunday earned the red winner's jacket of the Munsingwear Open, his first competition in a professional tour. The shock victory by the slim high school student graced the front pages of major newspapers and sports tabloids in Japan, with TV reports calling him a new "prince'' of the Japanese golf world.

"Feat by the 15-year-old,'' ran a headline in the Sankei Shimbun. "Ishikawa charges to overwhelm the pros,'' said another headline in the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper. "An unknown boy with 300-yard driver shots and handsome smiles achieved a prodigious feat that shakes the world of golf,'' said the Nikkan Sports tabloid.

Ishikawa, who admires Tiger Woods, started golf at age six by going to a practice range with his father. He kept playing with his father and said his experience as a sprinter for the track-and-field team of his junior high school helped him build the leg muscles needed to play better golf.

With the victory, Ishikawa set a new record as the youngest person to win a Japanese male tournament, previously held by Spanish world golf hall of famer Severiano "Seve'' Ballesteros, who won the 1977 Japan Open at the age of 20.

"Tiger Woods, whom I watched on TV when I was in around fourth grade, is my ideal. The style of golf that I need to play is an aggressive one,'' Ishikawa said after his victory.

Ishikawa's rise comes amid a barrage of other teen athletes who have captivated the Japanese media and public in various sports, ranging from baseball to figure-skating. Among the most prominent teen athletes in Japan is 16-year-old figure skater Mao Asada, a silver medalist in this year's world championship, who has wowed the nation with her jumps - and winning smile.