Ryo Ishikawa heartbroken over Japan disaster but chooses to remain on Tour till after the Masters
The entire world has been feeling the after effects of the disaster that struck Japan, but for Ryo Ishikawa the problem has struck a little too close to home. The Japanese, upcoming golfing prodigy, who has been creating a lot of buzz in the international
circuit has chosen to stay on Tour. However, the youngster admits to being deeply disturbed by the news.
The 19-year-old says that he wishes that he could fly back home and meet his family and somehow contribute to help his country recover from the devastation that has been caused by the massive earthquake and tsunami, but at the same time he realizes that
at the moment all that he can really do is play the best golf he possibly can.
The chance to give his people a little ray of hope remains the golfer’s primary motivation.
Ishikawa spent his childhood in Tokyo, which is barely 300 miles from the Miyagi area that suffered the brunt of the calamity. The golfer’s family has been confirmed to be safe and he is constant contact with them. But even though he has chosen to remain
in America for now, the player is facing a lot of emotional turmoil.
“It almost pains me that I am out there and the people of Japan are going through the worst crisis. I never for once felt lucky that I am here, meaning that my heart and soul are with the people of Japan. Even though I am physically here, my mind is there.
Thousands are struggling over there as I speak here today. I would like to perform at my best with them in my thoughts,” Ishikawa revealed in a press conference on Tuesday.
Ryo is currently “smack in the middle” of a three-tournament stretch at the Transitions Championship and he plans to remain in the US through the Masters. The player’s tenure at the Doral for the WGC-Cadillac Championship did not go so smooth and he struggled
throughout to end up tying for the 42nd spot. But the player has chalked this up to the tough course that is the Blue Monster rather than the news about the disaster back home.
For now he is trying to remain focused on pulling off nothing less than a brilliant performance at Innisbrook later this week. And that’s not all on his schedule, he will be seen playing in the Arnold Palmer Invitational next week and then it’s off to the
Augusta National to get in some practice before the Masters.
In his press conference he revealed that he will be heading back home as soon as the Masters ended and he will still be playing in the first tournament of the Japan Golf Tour that is scheduled to take place a week after the Masters.
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