Hiroshi Iwata, 38 years old and having his 16th year as a Pro, sometimes treats the media with intended harsh jokes.

He finished as a solo leader with bogey free 9 under yesterday, but on his starting hole today at 10th and also on 13th he made bogeys which made the fans and media feel that he must have lost his touch today.

At the interview after the round, Hiroshi was nabbing his forehead with his fingers making a "look", then he stated that "I had 2 things I wanted to try on my swing today."

He said he tried those 2 things, which he hesitated to give any details as always, on the starting hole. It didn't seem to work the way he wanted it to be, but said, "it was very new idea and it felt really worth to try. But I need to practice it more to make it work."

He changed his mind on the 14th to let go of that new idea of his, then he went on to hit from 87 yards out to 3-meters birdie chance. From that on, he made 3 birdies in a row.

Same as Day 1, he grabbed 9 birdies. He lives 2-and-a-half-hour drive from the course, and that "home" feeling is giving him comfort.
"When I start out with a bogey, I usually get frustrated, but today I was calm and that made me the chance to get back on my game. But yesterday is yesterday and today is today. Its only 2 days so, I really don't know about the weekends. I will not put too much pressure on myself and try to do well for the next 2 days."

Hiroshi was broken down after his challenge to the US PGA Tour in 2016, lost his confidence and his A game. But he is back on his track in his "home ground" this week. The best scenario will be making a comeback victory at his "home ground" tournament this week.