Decorated Japanese star Ryo Ishikawa produced a flawless opening eight-under-par 64 to share the first-round lead with Shotaro Tanaka at the ISPS HANDA Summer Golf Battle Tournament – “Who’s the Strongest” on Thursday.
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The pair lead by one over Ryunosuke Furukawa, Yoshinori Fujimoto and Yuki Shino after they posted matching 65s.
Ishikawa, a 20-time JGTO winner, delighted fans with a bogey-free round that featured seven birdies and an eagle, showcasing his precision iron play and steady putting touch.
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The 33-year-old reached both front-nine par-5s in two shots and nearly holed a seven-iron approach that stopped just 50 centimetres from the pin for a tap-in birdie.
“It was a solid round. On the front nine par-fives, I managed to reach both greens in two, and I had a seven-iron approach that finished right next to the hole,” said Ishikawa.
“This year, distance control has often been a challenge for me, but today with the seven-iron, I was within five meters, which I consider acceptable.”
Despite his strong start, Ishikawa insisted that there is still room for improvement
“Tomorrow I’ll be playing in the afternoon, and I expect the wind to pick up. I don’t think nine-under would have been possible today, but I’ll try to do what I couldn’t achieve today in the next round,” he added.
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“This year I’ve been working on controlling distance more precisely, and today it really paid off. It’s about making the right decisions and seeing them translate into good results,” he explained.
The ISPS HANDA Summer Golf Battle Tournament, offering a total prize purse of JPY 213,000,000, continues through Sunday with four rounds of action at the Hokkaido Brooks Country Club.
