Updated at 7:45 a.m., Sunday, May 20, 2007
15-year-old is youngest winner on Japan pro golf tour
Associated Press
TOKYO — High school student Ryo Ishikawa won the Munsingwear Open KSB Cup today, becoming the youngest winner in the history of the Japanese men's professional tour.Ishikawa, a 15-year-old former national junior high school champion, shot a 6-under-par 66 in the final round for a one-stroke win over veteran Katsumasa Miyamoto in his first tour appearance.
"It was a dream round," said Ishikawa, who finished at 12-under 276. "I just kept trying to make birdies."
The previous record was set by Spain's Seve Ballesteros, who won the 1977 Japan Open when he was 20.
Ishikawa became the first teenager to win since the Japanese men's tour was established in 1973 and first amateur winner since Masahiro Kuramoto took the Chugoku-Shikoku Open title in 1980 at age 25.
He shot 72-69 in the first two rounds to make the cut in a tie for 23rd. After a 69 in the third round, he surged up the leaderboard on Sunday with seven birdies against a lone bogey.
