The Bashful Prince wasn't.
The Japanese wunderkind with the equally mysterious nickname held his driver centered in front of him, parallel with his body, like Luke Skywalker in the light saber scene of "Star Wars."
He put the club to his side, took a breath, and drove the ball 289 yards off the 17th tee, just as far as his opponent, Michael Sim, in Wednesday's first round of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.
Ryo Ishikawa, however, was in a sand trap to the right of the fairway. Sim, a 26-year-old Australian star, was to the left, in the rough.
Sim walked the fairway, polishing a green apple on his shirt. When the two reached their spots, they debated who was farther.
Ishikawa dug into the trap. Had he shot left of the pin, the ball would have rolled down a ridge and left him lucky to par the hole.
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By flying past the hole from 169 yards, Ishikawa likely would have lost No. 17.
After squaring the match on 16, Ishikawa pulled out an 8-iron and took a full swing. The ball landed three feet from the pin, and instantly it became one of the best shots of the day in an event featuring the world's finest golfers.
"It was the most aggressive play of the day for me," he said. "I was surprised."
He didn't even have to putt. Sim told him to pick it up for a 3.
"If I had the birdie chance on 17," Ishikawa said, "I could win."
The Bashful Prince birdied 18, too, with another three to seal the win in a battle between two of the sport's top young prospects.
In doing so, Ishikawa - whose first name is pronounced Yo - keeps the media circus in town. And after Tiger Woods' announcement of a statement coming Friday, the tournament could use one.
At 18, Ishikawa is the youngest player in the history of the tournament.
At the Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles last year, his very appearance brought an extra 100 media members.
He has a driver head cover in his own likeness.
Wednesday, he had no fewer than 13 photographers shooting his every swing, putt and reaction. At hole No. 16, before Sim flubbed a chip that practically gave Ishikawa the hole, fans in corporate seats marveled at the attention.
Camera shutters hummed.
"Were those rattlesnakes?" one fan asked.
Ishikawa stalked the course with the aura of a rock star. He wore a black shirt, trimmed in red, with black pants and a black Yonex visor. He donned dark sunglasses, not the sporty models players usually wear.
He has been more than just hype. Ishikawa won three tournaments in 2007 and 2008 combined, but added four Japanese wins and one team title last season.
If Ishikawa wins today he will surpass his best PGA Tour finish ever - a tie for 32nd at this year's Northern Trust Open.
He birdied three of his first four holes Wednesday.
"I was very nervous," he said, "but the first-hole birdie start … gave me a good experience and confidence."
In a bit of luck, he avoids the world's No. 1 player today. Seeded No. 8 in the Bobby Jones bracket, Ishikawa advanced to face No. 64 overall seed Ross McGowan, who topped Steve Stricker in a stunner Wednesday.
The Brit said he knows "not very much" about Ishikawa.
"I just got told he was the youngest player in the field," McGowan said. "Other than, a good player from Japan. It will be interesting to play with him."
Just listen for the rattlesnakes.
