Japanese photographers, in typical swarming scrum, closely monitored 17-year-old schoolboy Ryo Ishikawa during today's practice round at Hazeltine. The rising Japanese star has promised fans that he'll make the cut this time, something he couldn't do at the recent British Open. . . but then, neither did his playing partner, Tiger Woods.
We caught up with this Asian sensation at No. 8 and chatted with a couple of the photographers assigned to feed the folks back home. Ishikawa received a special invitation from the PGA.
He made his major debut at the US Masters in April. Ishikawa rose from 85th to 57th in the world after winning in Hokkaido on Japan's JGTO Tour last weekend.At a news conference in Japan last weekend the youngster sounded like an old hand, passing out these sound bites:
"I've never seen the course (Hazeltine) but I'm not worried about it. It's what I do when I'm there that counts. I'm determined to qualify for the weekend this time. It's a learning process. My driving will be key."
Today's interview with the Japanese cameraman (above) didn't go as well. "Has he been getting off the tee today?," we asked.
We got a smile, and then this response:
私はChaskaにちょうど今日得、述べていることがわからない。 はいRyoは感覚であるが、私はちょうど仕事を、放っておく私をしている。 Shakopeeのよいステーキをどこに得ることができるか知っているか。
