Ryo Makes Billy Payne Looks Prophetic

Before I could even fire up a cynical post about the Ryo Ishikawa exemption, the 20-year-old can't-miss-prospect went out and played so great in Puerto Rico that he nearly won. His $378,000 check earned enough for temporary membership by way of landing in the top 150, and Ryo might have won if not for a great finish by winner George McNeill.

More importantly, in the Nationwide-PGA Tour Playoffs Because Q-School Can't Be Adequately Monetized, that puts him...oh wait, we don't have to go through that algorithm agony until next year. The anticipation is killing me!

Sean Martin on the ground in Puerto Rico says the great play was even more emotional coming on the anniversary of the tsunami

The Puerto Rico Open’s final round fell on the one-year anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan. Ishikawa and about a dozen countrymen gathered on the first tee for a moment of silence before he teed off. He also wore a black ribbon on his hat.

“Right now it’s still serious in Japan, but people are trying to recover,” he said. “But it is getting better, so I am going to try to win.”

Ishikawa said he played braver in the final round because of the tribute to his countrymen. A bold short game allowed him to contend this week despite struggles with his driver.

He hit just 54 percent of his fairways this week, ranking 69th among the 73 players who made the cut. He was first in putts per round (26.5) and third in putts per green in regulation (1.65), though. He not only got the ball up-and-down on a consistent basis, but rarely left himself with a testing par putt. Many of his chips burned the edge of the hole before settling within a couple feet.

The PGA Tour Productions highlights: