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Ishikawa set for Scottish Open debut

Ryo Ishikawa finished in a tie for 33rd at the US Open © Getty Images

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Japanese teenage sensation Ryo Ishikawa will get his preparations for the Open Championship underway by competing at the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond for the first time.

The 18-year-old, who already has eight Japanese Tour titles to his name, played at last year's Open at Turnberry but announced his ability with a record-breaking 12-under-par final-round 58 to win the Crowns tournament in Nagoya at the beginning of last month.

The round was the lowest compiled on any major golf tour, beating the previous record of 59 achieved by David Duval, Chip Beck, Al Geiberger and Masahiro Kuramoto, and Scottish golf fans will be hoping to see more of the same when Ishikawa begins his assault on a first European Tour title at Loch Lomond on July 8.

"I am very much looking forward to coming to Scotland to compete in The Barclays Scottish Open," Ishikawa told europeantour.com. "I played in The Open Championship at Turnberry last year and thoroughly enjoyed the experience and I can't wait to perform in front of the Scottish golf fans again.

"Every professional golfer wants to play in the best tournaments in the world on the best courses and I know, from what I have heard from other players, that The Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond fits the bill in both those categories."

Ishikawa finished in a tie for 33rd at last week's US Open - his debut appearance in the event - after moving to within two shots of the lead at the halfway stage and the teenager admits he never felt that he had the mental or physical strength to last the pace.

"After the second round, I was so satisfied," Ishikawa said. "With that sort of mind-set it's no wonder why I faltered (in my last two rounds).

"I didn't have enough physical and mental strength to make it through 72 holes. On my last day, I was breathing heavy every time I made a shot. Even so, I hardly made any mistakes on my shots throughout the four days."

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