It's a win for Scott and a lesson for Ishikawa

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Adam Scott got a confidence-boosting win on Thursday, while Ryo Ishikawa took a lesson-learning loss.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Greg Norman saw the confidence. He saw someone who was relaxed, ready to go, ready to prove the critics wrong. Then he saw that first drive at Harding Park split the center of the fairway, 308 yards away.

That's when Norman knew for sure that Adam Scott -- his controversial Captain's Pick, the former No. 3 player in the world who has struggled on the PGA TOUR this season -- was ready to put on a good show, ready to justify the faith that Norman showed in his fellow Australian.

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"Coming off the driving range this morning going to the first tee, he knew he was going to have a good day," Norman said of Scott.

And a good day it was. Scott and Ernie Els won the International team's first point in Thursday's Foursomes at The Presidents Cup, beating Americans Hunter Mahan and Sean O'Hair 2 and 1 in the second match of the day.

For Scott, who has missed the cut in 10 of his last 15 starts on TOUR, the outcome was more than just a point in his team's favor. It was about making a point, showing that he belongs in the International team room, showing he can contribute more than just good team chemistry.

"Any victory is important," Scott said, "but personally for me obviously it feels great."

U.S. Captain Fred Couples was glad to see Scott play well, even though it came at the expense of his own team.

"I really like Adam Scott; I was very happy with the way he played today," Couples said. "I certainly wish my guys would have beaten Adam. But he's one of the few guys that I pay a lot of attention to throughout the year."

Scott knew the importance of getting off to a good start, which is why that tee shot on the par-5 first hole was so critical. If he doesn't nail it, no telling where the mindset goes from there. But despite an admittedly "average" chip on his second shot, Scott and Els parred the hole, quickly going 1 up when Mahan and O'Hair found the rough on their first two shots and had to settle for bogey.

"Before the first tee shot, I could see Adam was quite riled up," Els said, "and he nailed it about 350 down the fairway, so I think everything went after that. I think he played awesomely."

Scott wasn't the only player feeling the pressure. Norman's other pick, Ryo Ishikawa of Japan, is making his first Presidents Cup appearance.

While Ishikawa has been on the opposite end of the success spectrum from Scott this season, having won four times on the Japan Tour, this environment is nothing he has ever experienced before. That can be daunting for anybody, but especially for an 18-year-old.

And if that wasn't enough, Ishikawa and teammate Geoff Ogilvy had to face off against the formidable U.S. duo of Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker. Not surprising, the Americans won handily 6 and 4. Norman made a point of speaking with Ishikawa to make sure he didn't get too discouraged by the loss.

"I just told him, this is a part of golf," Norman said. "This is a learning curve. Understand that this is a learning curve and it's going to be good for you in the long run ...

"The other 11 guys rallied around him and patted him on the back and said some stepping stones are smooth and some are a little rough, and this one was a little rough for him."

It probably didn't help matters that the alternate-shot format can be a bit unnerving. That's why Ishikawa looks forward to Friday's Four-ball where he'll play his own shots while being paired with the other Asian player on the team, Korea's Y.E. Yang.

"I think I'll still be nervous," Ishikawa said, "but I'll be able to ... if I make a bad shot, be the one that has to come up with the recovery shot. So think it will be a little bit easier."

Nothing is really easy for any Captain's Picks, especially for a controversial one and a young one. As Els said Thursday night, "What they have gone through today was very difficult."

But it's over now. Scott has a win and Ishikawa got his feet wet. And the promise of productive days remains.