Japanese golf star Ryo Ishikawa says he hopes to "become a machine" to correct the inconsistency that has prevented him from winning a tournament since late 2010.
"What do I want to be the most now? The answer to this question is a 'machine'," the 20-year-old wrote in his regular column in the Asahi Shimbun newspaper on Thursday.
Ishikawa bowed out from the second round of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship last week when he lost to Scotland's Paul Lawrie after beating American Bill Haas in the first round.
Now ranked 54th in the world, he is aiming for a place in the top 50 to be eligible for the April 5-8 Masters.
"If I can swing the driver and the iron like a machine, it will help me pile up scores," said Ishikawa whose boyhood dream was to win the Masters when he was 20.
Ishikawa recalled that "the upper and lower parts of my body did not make coordinated movements" in the Northern Trust Open in Februrary, where his score fell 11 strokes in the final two rounds.
Ishikawa finished tied in 72nd spot at 12-over-par 296 while Hass emerged the winner at 277.
He said Haas and Lawrie looked like machines to him.
"They put pressure on me many times with high-precision shots. Now I am required to become a machine in order to duel with such strong international players.
"Up to now, I had thought it was still too early to fix my form. But in my fifth year as a pro the time has come to do so."
Ishikawa, who in 2007 became the the youngest men's winner on a major tour by lifting the domestic Munsingwear Open KSB Cup aged 15 years, turned professional in 2008.
With his powerful drive and daring short game, he has won nine tournaments at home -- but none since lifting the Taiheiyo Masters title at home in November 2010.
In April last year, he made the cut at the Masters for the first time in three attempts and finished 20th.
Source: AFP
