I’ve always found the large amounts of money that professional athletes and golfers make to be a bit gawdy and unnecessary. It’s a little hard to feel for Steve Marino when he blows another late round lead when you consider the hundreds of thousands of dollars he walks away with for a week’s work. Still, I know how young golfer Ryo Ishikawa breaks income records over the rest of this year. There aren’t enough zeroes I can add to this guy’s checks for the next 8 months.

That’s because Ishikawa, a young Japanese golf prodigy, has announced he’ll donate all his 2011 winnings to the victims of the tsunami and its damage in Japan (he earned 1.8 million on the Japan Tour last year). I know Ishikawa will still make his fair share in endorsements/sponsor deals, but it’s still a kind gesture. The images and video of the destruction in Japan have been sad and startling. I can’t imagine what it’s like for Ishikawa to look at those image and see his home country. I applaud him for his donation and hope he finds his way to the top of many leader boards and earns as many millions as he can this year.