20 July,2009 02:50 PM IST | | AFP
Japan's teenage golf star Ryo Ishikawa, who was paired with Tiger Woods at the British Open until both missed the cut, says he learned a lot from the World No 1 and was overwhelmed by the experience.
"It still feels strange that I have played rounds with Tiger," local media quoted the 17-year-old high school student as saying on his return home from Scotland on yesterday.
"It was such a huge experience for me that it will carry me on to the coming tournaments."
Ishikawa said he particularly learned a lesson from watching Woods' "beautiful posture", explaining that he thought it could help both the rhythm and timing of his shots.
"I kept walking behind Tiger," he said. "I care about the way I walk myself and I want to follow his example."
Ishikawa - who says his dream has been to challenge Woods for a title - played the first two rounds at Turnberry with the 33-year-old American and Britain's Lee Westwood. It was the Japanese teen's British Open debut.
He shot a solid two-under-par 68 in the first round, besting Woods by three strokes, but missed the cut by two strokes at six-over-par. Woods also fell short by one shot at the half-way mark.
Ishikawa has three Japan Tour titles under his belt, but has so far failed to impress in four events on the US PGA Tour so far this year, including the Masters at which he missed the cut by five strokes.
He failed to qualify for the US Open has also been invited to another major, the US PGA Championship, in August. He was due to take part in the Sega Sammy Cup in Japan this week.
"I could feel tough winds in my bones," he said of his play at Turnberry. "I was almost satisfied with my shots. In this sense, the last two weeks were more meaningful than the Masters."
