Ryo Ishikawa’s American debut
Teenage pro golfer Ryo Ishikawa is off to unimpressive start in his first U.S. tour appearance, but he remains as popular as ever with older Japanese women and the Japanese press:
As you can see from the NTV news clip, Ishikawa doesn’t quite have the English ability to say much more than a self-introduction, but he is very happy to be competing in the United States. Sadly, Ryo’s attempt to teach reporters the pronunciation of his name was not a success:
Japanese prodigy Ryo (pronounced “Yo”) Ishikawa is a 17-year-old who is making his PGA Tour debut this week, after already receiving a rare and coveted invitation from Augusta National GC to play in The Masters this year.
ESPN goes a little further in their pronunciation:
Ryo Ishikawa (pronounced “Yo-Yo”) is 17, still in high school, and already a top five earner on Japan’s pro golf tour.
Even the New York Times couldn’t hear the “りょ” in his name:
“Yo,” he said. “Repeat after me. ‘Yo. Yo.’ ”
Maybe he should have just told them to pronounce it as “Ri-yo.”
A sushi restaurant in the States has created a “Ryokin’ Roll” to honor the young golfer. Ishikawa is 17-years-old, so it gives the restaurant an excuse to charge $17 for the dish.
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