Ryo Ishikawa retains Japan's top athlete award for 2009

Record-breaking teenager Ryo Ishikawa won the Japan Professional Sports Award for the second year running on Friday. The 18-year-old, who became Japan's youngest order of merit winner in 2009, accepted the award from Japanese prime minister Yukio Hatoyama in a Christmas visit to the PM's office.                                           

The multi-millionaire schoolboy, who is already one of Japan's biggest celebrities, was the award's youngest recipient last year.

Ishikawa, who won four JGTO Tour titles this year and made his major debut, presented Hatoyama with a putter and gave Hatoyama  some tips after becoming the sixth back-to-back winner of the prestigious Japanese sports award.