Ryo Ishikawa's superb display in the President Cup may well have driven at least one member of the triumphant United States team into ‘retirement’.

Despite finishing on the losing side, the Japanese teen prodigy put in a sensational performance to  beat 49-year-old Kenny Perry 2 and 1 in the singles
on Sunday, leaving the veteran American jokingly contemplating hanging up his clubs for good.

“I’m retired...he (Ishikawa) sent me right into retirement, that kid,” laughed Perry, who has three children older than his opponent. “He beat me in three matches.

“He was paired with YE (Yang) and I lost twice to him. I spent three rounds with him and was impressed. He played awesome. I threw a lot at him.”
Ishikawa, 18, who has won four events on his home tour this season, impressed by posting a 3-2 record on his Presidents Cup debut, second best on the Inter-national team to Ernie Els. And Perry wasn’t the only one impressed by Ishikawa’s play and poise in front of hordes of Japanese media who descended on Harding Park to follow him on his debut.

“What was I doing when I was 18? I had about a 20 handicap, I was surfing and I wasn’t winning golf tournaments like he is, that’s for sure,” said International team captain Greg Norman.

But Ishikawa played down his impact, preferring to hail his team-mates.

“When I got here all of the players looked after me, talked to me, gave me a lot of support and that really helped me throughout this week,” said Ishikawa.