Ishikawa ready to be 'beaten up' at US Open

Japanese teenage golf star Ryo Ishikawa says he is ready to be "beaten up" at next week's US Open as he struggles for form after missing the cut for two straight weeks on the domestic tour. But Ishikawa, who has one year to fulfil his boyhood dream of winning the US Masters before turning 21, said Tuesday he would aim high at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland, as a bold step toward winning a US major. Winless this season, he qualified last month for the US Open by climbing up to 49th in the world rankings, with the top 50 players then eligible for the June 16-19 tournament. His ranking has since slipped to 53. "I know too well how big the gap is between the top rankers and myself in skills. I am really thrilled about being able to take part," said Ishikawa, who finished tied in 33rd place at the 2010 US Open. "At the same time, I wonder how badly I may be beaten up on my return." "This year's US Open will be the first step or the second step on my way to win the title some day," said Ishikawa. "I want to play by aiming high so I can come home with the knowledge of what I need to win." Ishikawa has struggled with his short game this season but managed to finish tied 20th at the Masters after missing the cut there for two straight years since his 2009 debut. It was his best result in his eight US major challenges. But at home, he missed the weekend rounds for a second consecutive week last Friday, finishing tied in second-to-last place at the Japan Golf Tour Championship, a major domestic event. His previous back-to-back early exits occurred in his first pro year of 2008, a year after he became the youngest player to win a tournament on a major world tour by lifting the domestic KSB Cup when he was 15 years and eight months old. Ishikawa -- who also stunned the world in May last year by shooting a record 12-under-par 58 to win a domestic event -- admitted he had made many mistakes around the greens and in putting recently. "I've fallen into what you may call a vicious circle at times," he said. "I became desperate to sink the ball into the cup when it wasn't easy for me to do so. But the ball got further away from the cup." "I may put myself under pressure if I say this. But I am tuning up well this week as there is no tournament," he said. Despite the setbacks on the courses, Ishikawa's worldwide fame has soared after he vowed at the Masters to donate all his tournament winnings this season to victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami which ravaged Japan's northeast coast, leaving some 24,000 people dead or missing. He also promised to chip in 100,000 yen ($1,200) to the relief fund for every birdie or better he produces. Ishikawa, whose sponsorship deals are estimated at nearly 10 million dollars, plans to visit the disaster zone with other Japanese tour pros in July. He already visited a shelter near Tokyo for disaster victims last month. "I have mixed feelings as I am asking myself what I can do by visiting them," he admitted. "Indeed, as a golfer, I want to do something through golf. "I have gained some lessons from golf -- the importance of manners, the importance of etiquette and of care for other people. I want to give these things back through golf."