A day after Japan's star of tomorrow received his first paycheck in Hawaii, a golfing pioneer died at 92.
Torakichi Nakamura, a caddy at the Hodogaya Country Club in Yokohama at age 15 and a pro at 20, teamed up with Koichi Ono to win the 1957 Canada Cup--the forerunner to the World Cup. He became the first Japanese to play in the Masters the following year.
With "Tora-san's" death, the torch has been passed to 16-year-old Ryo Ishikawa, who on turning pro last month said winning the Masters was his No. 1 ambition.
Ishikawa, who finished 10th Sunday at the Pearl Open in Hawaii--his second pro tournament--looks like he can spark the same kind of golf boom that Nakamura was the first to inspire. The schoolboy has grabbed the hearts of many Japanese fans, not only with his booming and dynamic swing, but with humble and clever responses at press conferences.
Fans' expectations of Ishikawa were reflected in shares of Matsushita Electric, which rose to their limit-high for two days after the consumer electronics giant announced a sponsorship deal with the Saitama native. Yonex, more famous for its rackets, is said to have been flooded with orders for the driver and iron sets that Ishikawa has signed up to use.
His clean image is just what golf in Japan needs, especially as the sport was dragged through the headlines in the past year after a former senior defense ministry official was arrested on suspicion of taking bribes from contractors in the form of golf outings.
Golf is the only sport played without the supervision of a referee or umpire. According to the R&A Rules of Golf, players should "conduct themselves in a disciplined manner, demonstrating courtesy and sportsmanship at all times."
The game is built on the honesty and patience of its players.
The past decade has seen an increasing number of young players in competition--Ishikawa and female stars Ai Miyazato and Sakura Yokomine are the most recognizable examples. But it is said that some junior players have cheated in amateur events by altering their scorecards or moving balls from unfavorable lies. In most cases, the pressure to get a good score is coming from parents.
In late 2006, Masaki Nakanishi and Ai Takinami were both suspended for altering their scorecards at qualifying tournaments. Nakanishi, who was banned for five years, won 35 amateur titles and had been tipped for big things. Takinami was banned for 10 years.
By contrast, Nakamura became a role model for golfers in Japan. Loved for his personality--fiery on the course and mild off it--the three-time Japan Open winner was famous for nurturing young players.
One player he mentored was Japan LPGA chairwoman and Hall of Famer Hisako Higuchi, who became the first Asian to win a major by taking the U.S. Women's Championship in 1977. "He was like a father to me," Higuchi said in a statement. "He taught me how to live my life."
Tora-san's contribution to golf in Japan didn't stop there. As well as acting as an icon for a generation of golfers, he worked to establish the JLPGA and served as the organization's first chairman in 1967.
By the 1980s, golf in Japan had morphed into a very different sport from the Nakamura-inspired boom of the 1960s. Instead of "courtesy and sportsmanship," golf in the bubble economy was a tool for schmoozing business partners.
That era is thankfully over. The golf boom Japan is currently experiencing is based on lower green fees and more affordable clubs.
It's also based on young talent such as Miyazato and Ishikawa and their understanding the spirit of the game. Yonex president Tsutomu Yoneyama expects Ishikawa to be a role model for amateurs and young players who are swinging a club for the first time.
"I want Ryo-kun to be a player who will be respected and can revitalize the whole golf industry in Japan," he said.
Yoneyama's belief that the behavior of pros can have a huge influence on the amateur game isn't just hype--just look at the way weekend golfers aped their heroes by smoking their way around the course.
With Tora-san gone, it is up to Ishikawa and others to play golf in a spirit he would have recognized, and in doing so help the sport get rid of its tainted image.
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