Ryo Ishikawa first member picked for Asian Team to play in Royal Trophy
Ryo Ishikawa was picked Tuesday, 2 November to play for Asia in the coming Royal Trophy set to be played 7-9 January at Black Mountain Golf Club in Thailand.
The 19-year-old Japanese golf prodigy was the first member of the Asian team to be picked by captain Naomichi ‘Joe’ Ozaki. This will mark the third time that Ishikawa has played in this event (it is Asia’s version of the Ryder Cup).
The Royal Trophy pits hand-picked players from Europe against those from Asia. The eight-man teams play a series of 16 matches involving foursomes, four-ball and singles matches.
The event was first played in 2006 and was inspired on the success of the Ryder Cup. This year will be the last time that the event is played in Thailand. In the future, it will alternate between European and Asian venues.
Asia has never won this event, but they came within one point last year with Colin Montgomerie captaining the European team to a 8.5 - 7.5 victory over Naomichi ‘Joe’ Ozaki’s Asian team.
Ishikawa has fond memories of the event and looks forward to participating in it again early next year.
"My two previous Royal Trophy appearances have been truly memorable and they have played a major part in my development as a golfer."
Ishikawa is adamant about the benefits of team competition telling reporters that it was a "...very different kind of pressure" and that "...experiencing that can only be a good thing and make you stronger, especially so early in my career."
Ishikawa is going into next season riding on the confidence gained by winning the order of merit on the Japanese Tour and a round of a 12-under 58 at The Crowns.
Ozaki had nothing but good words to say about the young talent.
"What he did at The Crowns will be talked about with awe wherever golf is played, and he has won again since then to prove he is continuing to get stronger towards the end of the season."
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