Now, it is officially becoming one of Yuta Ikeda's 7 wonders. Explanations on the other 6 has to wait, but somehow Yuta has missed winning here at The North Country GC although he has won all the other tournaments held in Hokkaido. He has won the Japan PGA Championship in 2009 held in Eniwa CC, won at Sapporo GC Wattsu Course (ANA Open 2010 & 2017), and also won the Otaru CC (Sun Chlorella Classic in 2011.
"Even tournament sponsors told me that this is the only tournament in Hokkaido that I haven't won."

Yuta has made appearance at this tournament since 2009. The best chance he had for the victory was back in 2017. He was the leader after 2 rounds but finished at 4T. At that interview he said, "greens here is too difficult for me, doesn't suit my play style". Now he says, "I don't have negative thoughts on the greens as much as I used to, but it took me 10 years to learn how to deal with it".

Today, he managed to jump up to just 1 shot behind the leaders. The key for his success was his putter from classic collection.
"It is Jumbo Ozaki's original model TMJ mallet type. It was limited edition and only 200 was made. I had some in my collection. It is a classic model now, but I remembered that I played very well using that putter back in my junior days. I lost with 1 shot at last month's Japan PGA and I analyzed that my defeat was caused by my putting. So, for the 6 weeks break period, I tried out many of the putters and finally chose this one."

Yuta was also busy doing the Players Committee obligations during the summer break. He attended weekly meeting and has done many remote conferences and paper works. Main issue is still the pandemic.
"We were seeking the way to have the spectators back on the course, but the numbers of patients are rising so much, so we are reconsidering."

Yuta now holds 21 Tour victories, 4 more and he will achieve Lifetime Tour Card. Also, he has won at least once every year for 11 consecutive years, and if he makes it to 12 years in a row, he will tie with Jumbo Ozaki record.
"The best way to send my gratitude to the fans who support me is to win."