Teenage golf sensation Ryo Ishikawa, who etched his name in the history books by becoming the youngest player on the Japanese tour to reach ¥100 million in single-year winnings, was named Rookie of the Year on Monday.
The 17-year-old Ishikawa, who finished fifth on the money rankings list, became the youngest professional to win on the tour at the mynavi ABC Championship in November.
Ishikawa also received awards in a fan selection for the most impressive player of the year and an award chosen by golf writers for the second year in a row.
"Awards are not something that you aim for and get. This is a result of my doing the best I could," Ishikawa said. "You can only get the Rookie of the Year award once in a lifetime, so I'm extremely happy," he said.
Ishikawa struggled early on but saw vast improvement in his game toward the end of the year.
"Next season I want to get in title contention from the early spring," he said.