TOKYO - JAPAN'S Kenichi Kuboya scarcely registered a blip on his country's media radar on Saturday despite being two strokes off the lead halfway through the British Open.

Teenager Ryo Ishikawa hogged the headlines even though he crashed out of the Turnberry tournament, along with world number one and playing partner Tiger Woods.

The 17-year-old, who also missed the cut in his major debut at the US Masters in April, had tempted fate by calling for the notoriously fickle Scottish weather to 'do its worst'.

After a solid opening two-under-par 68 in benign conditions, Ishikawa slumped to a 78 on Friday as gusting winds and intermittent rain swept across the links course.

'My stance couldn't cope with the wind,' Ishikawa told Japanese media. 'The wind completely did me in but I'll do what it takes to be back in a year's time.'

As photographers tripped over each other chasing after Woods and Ishikawa, Kuboya quietly holed out two shots adrift of joint leaders Tom Watson and Steve Marino.

Ishikawa confessed that he had been so nervous playing alongside his hero Woods that he struggled to tee up his ball.

'I couldn't control my emotions today,' said Ishikawa. 'It was a long round. Tiger and I both had trouble. The weather threw me off and I wasn't at 100 per cent.' -- REUTERS