Which Was More Amazing, Ryo's 58 and Rory's 62? Or Their Combined Age Of 38?
/I know it's a pointless debate, but considering their age (Ryo 18, Rory 20), this weekend's play has to go down as one of the more amazing performances by young players in the game's history. Ryo's round as reported by AP:
The 18-year-old Ishikawa tapped in for par on the par-4 18th after his 15-foot birdie try slid inches by the cup. He had 12 birdies in his bogey-free round on the 6,545-yard Nagoya Golf Club course.
“I always dreamed of getting a score like this but didn’t think I would do it so fast,” Ishikawa said. “It hasn’t really sunk in yet, but I’m sure it will after a few days.”
After opening with rounds of 68, 70 and 71 to fall six strokes behind third-round leader Shigeki Maruyama, Ishikawa birdied nine of the first 11 holes Sunday. He added birdies on Nos. 14-16 and closed with two pars to finish at 13-under 267, five strokes ahead of Hiroyuki Fujita and Australia’s Paul Sheehan.
“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. “To my surprise, I found myself making this many birdies. I was in a calm mental state for all 58 strokes.”
Doug Ferguson on Rory's win at Quail Hollow Sunday:
Explosive as ever, the 20-year-old from Northern Ireland was 5 under over the final five holes to set the course record at 10-under 62 and win by four shots over Masters champion Phil Mickelson.
McIlroy finished in style, rolling in a 40-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole and thrusting his fist into the air.
“I suppose I got into the zone,” said McIlroy, who celebrates his 21st birthday on Tuesday. “I hadn’t realized I was going in 9, 10 under. I just know I got my nose in front and I was just trying to stay there.”