In professional sports, you have the prima donnas who suck like Tiger Woods, prima donnas who don't suck like Kyle Busch and prima donnas who just act like jerks like Kobe Bryant and Terrell Owens.
Then there is this story about a Japanese teenager who is poised to win his first PGA tournament and who has donated about $750,000 for the earthquake and tsunami relief in Japan.
From ESPN: Ryo Ishikawa amazed even his peers in a charity-driven sport when he pledged in March to donate his entire earnings on the golf course to the tsunami relief fund in his native Japan.
He could double the donation Sunday in a World Golf Championship that is surprising even him.
Coming off a missed cut in Japan, never better than 20th in stroke play in America, the 19-year-old sensation made six birdies and twice escaped trouble in the trees Saturday for a 6-under 64 that put him in the final group and only one shot behind Adam Scott in the Bridgestone Invitational....
Ishikawa might be the only other player in golf to appreciate what it's like to get attention like Woods. He has been a star in Japan since he won his first tournament as a 15-year-old amateur, and his 10 wins on the Japan Golf Tour include shooting a 58 in the final round to win The Crowns.
He has earned so much respect from his peers that Scott, even though he was leading, was not the least bit bothered to spend most of his interview talking about the kid once known as the "Shy Prince."
"I first saw him in Japan when he was 15, and he had already won an event over there. I mean, this kid is really amazing," Scott said. "I think this week is really big for him. It's great that he's playing well over here probably for the first time, if I'm not mistaken, first time he's really challenging at a world event.
"He's only 19. He's got everything in front of him."
Ishikawa doesn't get much attention in these parts because he has struggled in America, with only one top 10 in 2010 when Ishikawa reached the third round of the Match Play Championship. This is his 22nd tournament in America, and he started feeling comfortable only when he tied for 20th at the Masters this year.
The spotlight? He's been coping with that for a long time.
He gets the kind of media coverage in Japan that Woods gets around the world. It's not unusual to see Ishikawa sit in a folding chair after every round to accommodate dozens of Japanese media.
Now comes the hard part.
A win would make him the youngest winner of a PGA Tour event since John McDermott at the 1911 U.S. Open at 19, who was one week younger than Ishikawa.
As for the money? He already has donated about $740,000 this year from his earnings, which include a pair of runner-up finishes in Japan. Along with his money pledges for making birdies and eagles, the total donation is pushing $1 million.
"There are people that have no homes right now, and we actually don't know how long it's going to take for Japan to recover," Ishikawa said through a translator. "So I would just like to give my support to Japan."
http://espn.go.com/golf/story/_/id/6839399/adam-scott-leads-bridgestone-tiger-woods-tumbles-38th
For the most part, people are tired of Tiger Woods and his spoiled attitudes and listening to him complain every time he goes out and plays poorly.
It's nice to see a young kid with a good head on his shoulders, who has respect for his country and is very talented. Even if he does not win the tournament tournament, he certainly has won in the hearts and minds of the spectators and followers of golf.
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