Ryo Ishikawa shoots historic 58
Japanese rising star, Ryo Ishikawa posted the first 58 on a major tour when he won The Crowns tournament in Nagoya
Japanese rising star, Ryo Ishikawa posted the first 58 on a major tour when he won The Crowns tournament in Nagoya.
The 18-year-old, also known as the ‘Bashful Prince', shot 12-under-par on Sunday to come from six shots behind to win by five.
Ishikawa, who now has seven Japan Tour wins, said: "I always dreamed of getting a score like this but didn't think I would do it so fast."
The world number 38 birdied five of his opening six holes on his way to a front nine of 28. His back nine was of similar quality, resulting in 12 birdies overall, to set up a 58 over the par-70 course.
"It's absolutely unbelievable, I don't know where all those birdies came from," said Ishikawa. "Seeing my score improve by 12 strokes at the end - it's like a dream."
The previous Japanese Tour record of 59 was set by Masahiro Kuramoto in the 2003 Acom International.
There have been three 59s on the PGA Tour, shot by Al Geiberger, Chip Beck and, most recently, in 1999, David Duval. Meanwhile on the LPGA Tour, Annika Sorenstam fired a 59 in 2001.
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No player has recorded a round in the 50s on the European Tour, however 60 has been posted 14 times.
"I got off to a good start for the first time in four rounds, so I told myself not to give up for the title until the end," Ishikawa said.
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