Pressure takes toll on Ishikawa in PGA debut

Friday 20th February, 01:56 PM JST

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FrEcKlEfAcE at 06:29 PM JST - 20th February

Pretty close to last place. Oh well, 3 more rounds to go. lets see if he can pick it up a bit. Plain weird, that Imada shoots lights out golf and not a word about him.
hoserfella at 07:20 PM JST - 20th February

davidattokyo - with the level of competition on the Japanese Tour, Im pretty sure even a weekend duffer with a brutal slice (i.e. me) could win the odd tourament here. Ever watched them on TV? 80% of the field look like Oyajis who just stumbled out of the local snack.
TexasAggie at 07:35 PM JST - 20th February

ESPN said he is in 114th place after the first round and that his bags are already packed for the flight back to Japan.

While the rest of the golfing world laughs at Japan, I'm sure you guys over there will embrace your new favorite son.
Pukey2 at 09:26 PM JST - 20th February

I wonder whether any of this is related to the pressure his must feel from the Japanese media. The media here always goes into an orgasmic frenzy whenever a local person even so much as goes abroad. Now that he's doing badly, I wonder how much time NHK will devote to him.

As for earning a lot on the Jp tour, as hoserfella says, it's nothing to brag about considering how the Japanese do in international tournaments. For example, have the likes of Murayama and Jumbo ever won anything abroad? (Maybe they have, but I haven't heard anything).
TokyoGas at 09:38 PM JST - 20th February

Oops! I did not check the rankings before making my earlier post. That kid is getting spanked. But it is only the first round and he could have a good run with the next.

FrEcKlEfAcE - Yeah, no mention of Imada who is tied for 10th place. Maybe he is too old...

Also this article does not mention that Ishikawa is tied with 15 others in 114th place. I guess they did not want to make his fans cry.
YangYong at 10:01 PM JST - 20th February

Hey Tex. What were you doing at 17? Sniffing glue? The boy is doing fine.
some14some at 11:09 PM JST - 20th February

PGA is for pressure-proof players, Ishikawa is for media players !
smithinjapan at 11:14 PM JST - 20th February

I've grown to respect and even admire this young guy. So he had a bad day on his International debut... big deal. At only 17, he's going to be fine. This is one guy the Japanese can DEFINITELY be proud of.
TexasAggie at 11:30 PM JST - 20th February

Having won only one tournament in his rookie year, this kid's out of his league here in America.

Go back to Japan and play golf in the nation of 12 year olds. The PGA's for grownups.
larguero at 11:42 PM JST - 20th February

I hope he just had a bad day and that from now on he improves. Anyway, Japan has a long history of supporting sportsmen/women that have a secondary role in world sports: They broadcast Scottish football league, a third class league in Europe, just because one Japanese play. They also had Ai-chan carrying the flag in the Olympics, when she was world's number 12. This is definetely an "idol bubble".
TexasAggie at 12:03 AM JST - 21st February

Not sure who this Ai-chan dude is you're referring to. If he's ranked No. 12 in whatever sport he's in, then this kid Ishikawa should do well when he returns to Japan with his tail between his legs in the next couple of days.
TexasAggie at 12:11 AM JST - 21st February

SportsCenter was showing this kid choking on the green while those in the studio were laughing at him.

Don't they teach golfers over there in Japan that you drive for show and putt for dough?
Good_Jorb at 12:14 AM JST - 21st February

SportsCenter was showing this kid choking on the green while those in the studio were laughing at him.

That's not very professional of them but then again it is SportsCenter.
raymech1 at 02:11 AM JST - 21st February

This is sounding too much like what Michelle Wie went thru
nutsagain at 10:00 AM JST - 21st February

davidattokyo: OK, ok... a rich show pony.