Tournament article

Mitsui Sumitomo VISA Taiheiyo Masters 2019

"I wish I could be in contention every week like Shugo" envies Ryo Ishikawa

On Wednesday at Taihiyo Club Gotemba Course, annual Pro-am games was held with so many celebrity guest from show business and other professional sports, and it will be TV broadcast as always.

Ryo enjoyed playing with professional Baseball and Soccer players.
"It felt like a private fun golf today."

He missed his cut last week for the first time this season. He got really confused and took his 1W out of his bag on Day 2.
"But today, I used my 1W in all of the holes. I have won here twice, in 2010 and 2012, so I felt confident and used my 1W freely. Last week I was too concerned about my 1W, and that lead to get my Iron shots and short games to fall apart as well. So, chose to let go of my 1W by literary taking it out of my bag. I tried to forget about it and that helped. Now I got my mind shifted and I am felling quite good swinging the 1W today."

There are only 4 more tournaments including this week, and Ryo stands at 3rd on Money Rankings.
"If I could get my hands on Order of Merit title by winning 1 or 2 tournaments, that will be great, so that is my goal."

Shugo Imahira couldn't win last week, but he finished as runner-up for the 5th time this season and sits safely at the top of the Money List.
"I am not so interested in who earned the most prize money that season, but I take seriously about which player was most successful this season. Actually, that is equal to the Order of Merit title. Which means at this point, it's Shugo. I really wish I could be in contention every tournament as Shugo is. Every player wished to be in contention."

Ryo knows that Shugo's has succeeded with great consistency this season, and Shugo is very close in defending his Order of Merit title. Ryo admits that Shugo has done great and has No complaints, but he is just really jealous. So even if there is a chance to overcome Shugo in last 4 tournaments, that's not enough.
"Just beating him my total prize money is not satisfying. Only way to be satisfied is to be grated as successful throughout the season, at the end. This is depended on how I fight through the last 4 games. Only scenario will be winning all 4 tournaments. Overtake Shugo's success by the number of victories. Then fans might consider saying this was Ryo's year. If not, I am not titled to the Order of Merit Champion position. So, I want to do more than great for the rest of this season."