RYO ISHIKAWA

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) — Ryo Ishikawa may not have won the Presidents Cup but came out on top in the battle of the generations on Sunday, driving at least one member of the triumphant United States team into 'retirement'.

The 18-year-old Japanese showed plenty of respect for his elders but no mercy by beating 49-year-old Kenny Perry 2&1 in the singles on Sunday, to leave the veteran American jokingly contemplating quitting the game.

''I'm retired...he (Ishikawa) sent me right into retirement, that kid,'' laughed Perry, who has three children older than his opponent. ''He beat me (in) three matches.

''He was paired with Y.E. (Yang) and I lost twice to him. I spent three rounds with him and was pretty impressed. He played awesome. I threw a lot at him.''

Ishikawa, who has won four events on his home tour this season, impressed by posting a 3-2 record on his Presidents Cup debut, second best on the International team with Ernie Els.

Perry was far from the only one impressed by Ishikawa's play and poise in front of hordes of Japanese media who descended on Harding Park for the biennial event to follow him.

''What was I doing when I was 18? I had about a 20 handicap, I was surfing and I wasn't winning golf tournaments like he is, that's for sure,'' said International team captain Greg Norman.

Ishikawa, who stood out in a top-class field that included Woods, Phil Mickelson and Els, however, has no immediate plans to step onto golf's biggest stage on the PGA Tour and will instead return to Japan.

''When Greg first picked me to be on this team, I didn't know if I was worthy to be a part of this team,'' said Ishikawa.

''But when I got here and all of the players looked after me, talked to me, gave me a lot of support and that really helped me throughout this week.

''When I get back, I'm going to have eight tournaments remaining in Japan and obviously nothing has been decided for the future, but for now, I'm going to be playing...in Japan.

''I think playing in other countries is going to help my golf game, and obviously in the end, I would like to play on the PGA Tour and be able to play with the guys that I played with this week.''