Which as the Japan Golf Tour nears its climax for 2019 is a positive for the 2017 New Zealand Open champion.

There are just three events to follow this week’s Mitsui Sumitomo VISA Taiheiyo Masters and Hendry needs at least one strong finish to guarantee full status in Japan in 2020.

Sitting in 63rd position on the Order of Merit, the 40-year-old’s only top-10 in Japan this year came at the RIZAP KBC Augusta tournament in September when he was tied for sixth but his record at the Taiheiyo Club is one most players would envy.

Tied for 17th last year in a tournament reduced to 54 holes, Hendry was tied for third in 2017 and top 20 in 2016 with his best score at the Gotemba course 67 which he has done twice (2017, 2018).

The Australian contingent joining Hendry at the Taiheiyo Masters includes 2012 champion Brendan Jones, Won Joon Lee, Brad Kennedy, Anthony Quayle, Matthew Griffin, David Bransdon and Adam Bland.

Jones (13th), Griffin (22nd), Kennedy (26th), Lee (42nd) and Bransdon (47th) all sit inside the top 50 on the moneylist with Quayle just outside in 51st position.

Mitsui Sumitomo VISA Taiheiyo Masters tee times (AEDT)

10.30am – David Bransdon, Rattanon Wannasrichan, Seung-Hyuk Kim
10.35am* – Adam Bland, Nobuo Serizawa, Yuta Kinoshita
10.50am – Michael Hendry, Kiyoshi Murota, Juvic Pagunsan
10.55am* – Won Joon Lee, Kunihiro Kamii, Tomoyo Ikemura
11.45am* – Brendan Jones, Shingo Katayama, Hiroyuki Fujita
12:00pm – Matthew Griffin, Toru Taniguchi, Angelo Que
12.15pm* – Brad Kennedy, Kenichi Kuboya, Tomoharu Otsuki
12.40pm – Anthony Quayle, Yujiro Ohori, Takanori Konishi

* Starting from 10th tee