Ryo Ishikawa not leaving JGTO
Good news for fans of Ryo Ishikawa. The 19-year-old Japanese golf sensation has announced that he is not leaving the Japan Golf Tour Organisation to join the US Professional Golfers Association on a full
time basis next season.
"Everyone around me is getting excited, but I haven't thought about it at all," Ishikawa told Kyodo News on Wednesday 17 November.
"No interest. I want to do what I did this year," added Ishikawa, who will see action in the Dunlop Phoenix tournament this week.
Ishikawa currently trails South Korean Kim Kyung-tae by 13 million yen in the JGTO money list heading into the final three tournaments of the season. A win for Ishikawa in the Dunlop Phoenix event would
give him 40 million yen.
Nicknamed "The Bashful Price," Ishikawa first made a name for himself in the local circuit when he won the 2007 Munsingwear Open KSB Cup at the age of 15, making him the youngest player to win a JGTO event.
He turned professional in 2008 and became the youngest ever player to make the top 100 of the Official World Golf Rankings at the end of the year.
Ishikawa started playing in PGA Tour events last year. He missed the cut in the Northern Trust Open and Arnold Palmer Invitational and placed 71st in the Transitions Championship.
Ishikawa also saw action in The Masters and The Open but missed the cut. The youngster finally made the cut of a major event when he finished 56th in the PGA Championship.
The Saitama native has won thrice in the JGTO this season. He ruled The Crowns tournament in May and won the Fujisankei Classic in September. Ishikawa is coming off a victory in last weekend's Taiheiyo
Masters.
Ishikawa was a member of the international squad in the 2009 Presidents Cup and represented Team Asia in the Royal Trophy in 2009 and 2010.
Tags: