His name is Ryo, and he dances on the greens

SAN FRANCISCO – Tiger Woods may be the undisputed king of professional golf, but there may be a new crown prince.

Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa just turned 18 in September, but he’s got enough charisma that some 80 members of the media were following him at Harding Park – and enough skill to finish the week 3-2.

International captain Greg Norman said that when he was 18, he was a better surfer than a golfer, and sounded almost in awe of Ishikawa, the youngest competitor in Presidents Cup history.

“Playing well in Japan and winning in Japan is great,” Norman said. “But stepping up to the plate on the big stage and getting thrown to the wolves against Tiger Woods on Thursday, and then to bounce back the way he’s bounced back ... you’ve got to be in the sport to know how good that is.”

In perhaps the most intriguing matchup of the day, Ishikawa edged 49-year-old Kenny Perry 2 and 1.

“I’m retired. I don’t talk anymore,” Perry said afterward, drawing laughter. “He sent me right into retirement, that kid.”

AMERICANS’ SECRE WEAPON

Presidents Cup rookie Sean O’Hair got plenty of sage advice this week, from captain Fred Couples, from veteran Phil Mickelson, and from another sporting legend: Michael Jordan.

Jordan was treated as an unofficial captain throughout the tournament, and was a constant presence. Sunday, he spent much of his time behind the 17th green. Couples credited His Airness with making a couple of important suggestions, and O’Hair acknowledged his contributions, too.

“It was nice early in the week to have MJ kind of try and pump me up a little bit,” O’Hair said. “We talked a little bit, and he took a lot of my money, and you know, then that kind of took me back down.”

Jordan, recently inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, seemed impressed by the Presidents Cup experience.

“One of the things that I hear all the time is that the U.S. team is not a team,” he said. “I think we had a team. We had a team this week.”

CAPTAINS, OUR CAPTAINS

The PGA will select captains for the 2011 Presidents Cup in January. No early word on whether Couples or Norman will be nominated again, but both of them said Sunday they would be honored to re-up if asked.

“Would I do it again? Hell, yeah, I would do it again,” Couples said. “Would I be picked again? I have no idea, but I certainly wouldn’t turn it down.”

NOTES

Winning a major doesn’t necessarily guarantee a strong performance in the Presidents Cup. Among this year’s majors champions, Y.E. Yang (PGA Championship) was 2-2-1, Stewart Cink (British Open) was 1-3-1, Angel Cabrera (Masters) was 1-3 and Lucas Glover (U.S. Open) was 0-3-1.

Included in Woods’ entourage was San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom, who changed from windbreaker to sport coat before saying virtually nothing at the post-tournament podium.

Hunter Mahan, 27, on why most of the PGA veterans wore jackets to the post-tourney press conference, while the young kids didn’t: “They’re old. They’re cold.”