Ryo Ishikawa received special quarantine exemption and given the chance to defend his title but could not come through. He finished at 4 under, 19T.
"I was aiming for defending my title, so I am really regretful about my 74 on R3."

Ryo has been making so many changes on his game to find what is best. Such as using longer shaft 1W from US Open 2 weeks ago.
"Yesterday my club face was a bit open on the strokes. I could hit it perfectly on the practice range, but I cannot perform in high frequency on the course. I have done some tune up after yesterday's round, and today I was about 80%. I am disappointed on my result but still I was able to find some discovery on my swing. I want to benefit from it and make it worth."

Ryo will also be defending his title at Shigeo Nagashima Invitational Sega Sammy Cup in August.
"We have 6 weeks until next tournament, so I will prepare myself for the second half of the season with much training and sum up the discoveries I made on first half of this season. I will take every detail onto my practice with my coach and level up my game. I will definitely use the off time to make it worth."

Ryo received exceptional measures by the Japan Sports Agency and was exempted from having to go through the 2 weeks restriction period and was able to make appearance on this tournament. He had to stay locked in at the lodge of the course, and he had to practice within the roped area and so on.
"I was privileged to have this opportunity. I didn't have any trouble playing here thanks to all of the staff members who helped to make this happen. I am really grateful for their support."

Ryo will undergo the rest of restriction period on his own, until 14 days after his return, and receive negative diagnosis on the PCR test.