Ishikawa has brutal day with 85

Ryo Ishikawa nearly won the WGC-Bridgestone last week with stellar play. The 19 year old Japanese phenom has even shot 58 in the final round of a professional tournament to win.

Unfortunately, the tides turned today and he felt the other end of the spectrum with his golf game. He hit six balls into the water Thursday to card an 85, 22 strokes behind leader Steve Stricker.

At the diabolical closing stretch of holes 15-18, he made triple, bogey, double, and double. "I'm in the process of a swing change," Ishikawa said. "Last week it went well. This can still happen, though. It's not a surprise."

 Today was just one of the days for Ishikawa. He's still going to have an awesome career.

Ishikawa one shot back heading into final round at Firestone

Ryo Ishikawa fired a third round 64 and at 11-under is only one shot behind leader Adam Scott at the WGC-Bridgestone. Ishikawa, 19, and playing this season for Japan, will try to win his first PGA Tour event against a star filled leaderboard including Jason Day, Luke Donald, Rickie Fowler, and Rory McILroy.

"I think it’s a little too early to think about winning this whole thing as of now," he said. "But I do feel that I was able to play at a pretty good level, pretty high level today. Actually I am a little bit surprised of how I performed out there."

He will tee off with Adam Scott at 2pm Eastern time Sunday. 

Ryo Ishikawa donating all 2011 winnings to Japan

As a way to help out the people of Japan suffering from the devastating earthquake and tsunami, 19 year old Ryo Ishikawa has decided to donate all of his 2011 tournament prize money plus a bonus per birdie made to the victims.

Ishikawa is a golf phenom who has won nine times on the Japan Tour, shot a 58 in a pro round, won his first pro tournament as a 15 year old amateur, and won his first money title as a 17 year old. Last year he was third on Japan's money list with 1.82 million. This is an amazing act by a young person and has gained a lot of attention around the golf world.

"I don’t view this as pressure to perform, but it will instead be extra motivation for me,” Ishikawa said Friday in an email to The Associated Press. “I always believe in myself, but because I am playing for the people of Japan, I feel like I will be playing with a greater purpose this year.”

“I feel fortunate to be in a position to afford such things, but I know that my success is a result of the support of so many people,” he said in the email. “While golf is my profession, and I want to have a long and successful career, there are things that are more important. And the people of Japan are dealing with life and death issues as a result of the earthquake and tsunami. I feel it is my turn to give back in whatever way I can to support the people who have been so supportive of me.”

It would be great to see Ishikawa get a few wins this year. Maybe he can get one at the Masters.

Donate to Japan

58 and 62 = Ridiculous

Lets start with Rory Mcllroy. At age 20, he's been called the next Tiger but hasn't been playing great as of late....until Saturday at Quail Hollow. After making the cut on the number at plus one, he shot 16 under on the weekend to win by four shots over Masters champion Phil Mickelson.

He shot 66 / 62 on the weekend with a final round back nine of 30 which included six straight threes to end the round. He made a sick eagle at 15, stuck a seven iron from the fairway bunker to five feet on 16 to make birdie, and then nearly made a 50 footer on the very difficult par-3 17th. At 18, to top it all off, he drained a 40 footer (picture above) to finish in style.

Supposedly, Mcllroy as been working with Bob Rotella on the mental game and how to close out tournaments. I'd say it worked. I'd say I might actually have to read one of Rotella's books and see what the keys are.

It will be interesting to see how he does this week at the Players.

Ryo Ishikawa, age 18, and another next Tiger, shot a 58 to set a record for lowest score on a major tour. He made 12 birdies and no bogeys to win The Crowns in Japan.

He broke the previous Japan Tour record of 59 held by Masahiro Kuramoto. As for the PGA Tour, David Duval, Chip Beck, and Al Geiberger have each shot 59. Annika Soremstam holds the LPGA record with a 59 while Shigeki Maruyama shot a 13 under par 58 in the 2000 U.S. Open qualifier.

It's not quite yet the changing of the guard in professional golf, but with Mcllroy, Ishikawa, AK, and Fowler playing well, the time is getting closer.

We'll see how long it takes Tiger to get his act together again and fend off these guys.

Mcllroy photo / AP - Gerry Broome
Ishikawa photo / AP - Kyodo News