As we near another British Open at Royal St. George, I thought I would go through the list of players from Japan competing in this years Open. It’s always a good opportunity not only to see some Japan tour players but also to see some JDM gear in action. I’ve also got a few pictures of each players bags, though not necessarily what they will be playing at the Open.
Ryo Ishikawa – Yonex: Ishikawa has been altering between his trusty tour cavity backs and new Yonex muscle backs all year. What will he play come Thursday? He relies on his new 380cc driver and ST 3 Wood and surely that 16* 0 iron will come in handy for him especially if the wind picks up. Can the 19 year old finally come through on the world stage? He’s got the raw skills but still lacks composure under pressure and the ability to be consistent. He must tame his wildness to be successful.
Yuta Ikeda – Tourstage: Ikeda is the new top man for Tourstage and sports the all Bridgestone bag unlike most pros that have a mix mash of brands. From the X-Drive 415 to GR utilities to 905 CB Limiteds and even TS Wedges and putter, Ikeda is the anti Ishikawa, quiet, reserved, not flashy at all. In Japan he is the young man (25) who’s an old man based on his demeanor.
Hiroyuki Fujita – Yamaha: Fujita is one of my favorite golfers. At 42 years young he is full of experience and has superb touch around the greens. He is not overly long compared to the young guns but he is just as styling on the course. He games the Yamaha V425 Tour and V Forged Tour Model but struggles sometimes with the left side. I’m always rooting for him.
Tadahiro Takayama – Tourstage: There was a time where Takayama was one of the hot up and comers for Tourstage on the Japanese tour. He faded for a while and was quiet before coming back strong over the last two seasons. Takayama is gaming the X Blade 901 Limted Blades and X-Drive 705 455 driver. He’s a streaky player who can either be hot and contend or disappear on the first day.
Tetsuji Hiratsuka – Tourstage: Like Fujita, Hiratsuka has been around on the Japan Tour and has been a mainstay with Tourstage. Still gaming the 09W-01-01 Prototype which the 703 Limited is based on, he also games the newer X-Blade 705 Type M. Another player who is up and down and can get hot… (or cold).
Hiroo Kawai – Taylormade Japan: At 39 Kawai got his first Japan Tour win of his career and it happened to be a Japan major at the Nissin PGA Championships which got him into the Open. He games the R11 and the Japan model R9 Forged. I don’t really know much about him since he really only broke out this year.
While I don’t really for see any of the Japan Tour players making a run at the Open, frankly the course is nothing like what they play in Japan, I’ll root for them nonetheless. And if one were to show up on the leader board it would be great for Japan. Thanks to the favorable time difference, the Open here in Japan will be aired on prime time which is awesome as I rarely get to watch any of the US based events live due to the time difference.
So what do you think? Who will win this years British Open?
[poll id=”45″]
Beautiful bags. I’m biased though as I used to game the ryo nano vs.
The bag of ryo is sensational! Now I’m contemplating on keeping my
Nanov tour forged irons.
Trying to keep my eye out on Robert Rock… Hope camera captures him a lot!
None of them will win. No Japanese player will ever win, not until they LEAVE their own country to play on the European Tour, away from all the coddling in Japan that they receive from the companies to the media to the fans. None of them have the right game, and they all get too homesick away from Japan. Their ladies are doing it, such as Ai and Momoko, being full-time on a foreign tour, so why aren’t the men doing it more, especially the young ones like Ryo and Yuta? Too much money and a good life and nice house in Japan, I suppose. Nice bags though LOL
I don’t think anyone is expecting any of the Japanese players to win or even contend for that matter. You’re absolutely right unless they play on tour like Shigeki Maruyama and Ryuji Imada, winning will be difficult if not impossible.
Ishikawa will move to the PGA tour but not for a couple of years. I would be stunned if Ikeda moved to the US. He strikes me as the kind of person that would feel uncomfortable outside of Chiba! I would think that 3 of the Japanese players will make the cut, most probably Ishikawa, Ikeda and Fujita.
@HM:
Hiratsuka’s played 8 times on the European Tour this season.
As always great observations. I have to agree Ryo-kun will eventually go but he still has quite a bit of seasoning as hes very raw. Your comment on Ikeda made me laugh. He is from around here where I live and very much a local boy. I do hope Fujita makes the cut!
Ryo is playing the ezone mb now according to yonex and a few others.
Lot’s of Titleist wedges in there along with a few from TourStage.
Good to see those Akira prototype wedges in Kawai’s bag…
@gocchin:
Ryo is also from Chiba.
@Golfbaka:
Hiratsuka may have played 8 times on the European Tour, but what I mean is LIVING in England or Spain or Germany or France or Italy, etc, and actually BEING in a foreign country for YEARS without actually living in Japan for a good long period, long enough that they can actually do interviews without having to use a translator, and such.
Oh and Gocchin – nevermind the golf!
Go NADESHIKO JAPAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@HM:
Shigeki Maruyama is the most clear example of a player who went over to live in the States and won 3 times on the PGA tour. Dunno how good his English got though!
Ishikawa will go abroad and speaks pretty good English (better than say Ángel Cabrera or Miguel Ángel Jiménez!). I think living in the US for Ishikawa would have the added advantage of not having to have the travelling circus of the Japanese media following him everywhere.
Ryo is actually from Saitama.
Yeah Nadeshiko! What a great game. Had to wake up at 4am to watch it though!
Finals will be tough against the US but boy Nadeshiko passed the ball great and dominated possession. I was so surprised!
@gocchin:
He might be FROM Saitama, but he practices in Chiba, near Noda City. So if any announcers ever do it the US way on the first tee, they would say “Ryo Ishikawa from Chiba, Japan” actually.
Actually he now practices and still lives in Saitama with his parents as his family set up his own practice area. He spent time practicing in Noda at Taihei golf center back in Elementary school. By Junior high he was back in his hometown of Matsubushi, Saitama.
This is his practice facility in Saitama.
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%95%E3%82%A1%E3%82%A4%E3%83%AB:Saitama_Private_Practice_Field_Of_The_Ryo_Ishikawa_1.JPG
@gocchin:
That’s weird. Some people I know in Noda said they just saw him last year practicing over there, as usual. Noda’s right next to where he is anyway so may be he goes over there more often than not.
Good to see Ikeda playing well. Struggled down the stretch, but still well done on making the cut. I agree it’s tough for Japanese players to win majors without competing every week against PGA Tour or European Tour fields (PGA Tour fans will argue Euro fields are weak in comparison, which is true to a certain extent, but definitely not at the top).
The one thing I’m happy about this week is that Ryo has gotten rid of his “Rickie Fowler” Yonex cap! I hope it never comes back…
Enjoy the rest of the tournament! Those of you who have Golf Channel in Japan – watch the Chiquita Classic (that’s what I’m working on this week)…
Yes Noda is only 30 minutes away from his hometown. He certainly still goes there as Noda means a lot to him and he still supports Taihei.
Ikeda is playing some very consistent golf. He does not look like he is out of place and missing Chiba (^_^). Ryo played horribly and just as I said before his wildness and inconsistencies still need a lot of taming. He probably needed that huge Yonex cap of his which is now a big seller here…. ah the wonders he does for Yonex!