MIAMI (Kyodo) The emotional trauma brought about by a monster earthquake at home took its inevitable toll on Ryo Ishikawa on Friday as the Japanese teen star struggled to a 4-over 76 in the second round of the Cadillac Championship.
Safe in the knowledge that his family was unharmed by the 8.8-magnitude quake, Ishikawa showed a steely resolve to move into second place after completing the remaining six holes of his weather-interrupted opening round before a 76 in the afternoon dropped him into a tie for 19th.
"I tried my best to block everything out but as you can imagine, it's a very tough day," said Ishikawa. "I was told by my family that everything was OK and somehow I was able to stay focused."
"As you can imagine, what happened in Japan was beyond being a distraction for me. I'm worried for the whole country. The fact that I was finally able to communicate with my parents did help me feel so much better."