Ryo Ishikawa: the teen tyro teeing off with Tiger

Ryo Ishikawa, the teenage golf prodigy known to fans as the Bashful Prince, will tee off in the British Open at Turnberry on Thursday in the group containing the current king of the sport, Tiger Woods.

Ishikawa became the youngest ever player to receive an invite to the US Masters last April, but he missed the cut. The fact that he had to qualify the hard way for the British Open by winning the Gateway to the Open Mizuno Open Yomiuri Classic may set him up for a better performance playing next to his idol.

Ishikawa burst onto the golf scene – albeit in the relatively minor Japanese tour – by winning the Munsingwear Open KSB Cup at the age of 15 years and 8 months in May of 2007, turning professional in 2008 and winning another Japanese tournament. He has become a significant celebrity in his golf-obsessed homeland.

The third player in the group will be the Englishman Lee Westwood, who will have to navigate his way through a media throng even bigger than usual playing next to Woods.

Padraig Harrington, who won the Open last year in the absence of the injured Woods, is in a group with former US Open champions Geoff Ogilvy and Jim Furyk.