It would be hard to imagine a more motivated player in the field for this week’s flagship European Tour event than Scott Hend.

The likeable Queenslander took a one shot lead into the final round at Wentworth last year only to double bogey the first hole and watch his tournament hopes evaporate as he amassed 41 strokes over the opening nine holes.

It was a cruel end to what would have been the biggest moment of a career year in 2016 for Hend who went on to represent Australia at the Olympics in Rio and claim the Asian Tour Order of Merit title.

But the 43-year-old has proved himself a resilient golfer in the past and he will take plenty of good memories to the first tee as he leads a nine strong Australasian contingent into battle.

A blazing final round in Thailand last week, which saw him climb more than 20 places up the leaderboard, suggests his game is in good shape and Hend would dearly love to add a third European Tour title to his resume.

He has made no secret of the fact he wants to win on European soil (both his wins have come in Asian Tour co-sanctioned events) and to claim the Tour’s biggest event would be icing on the cake.

Also teeing up this week are the inform Marcus Fraser and Jason Scrivener, both of whom finished top-5 in Sicily on Sunday, Wade Ormsby, Andrew Dodt, Brett Rumford, Nathan Holman, Sam Brazel and New Zealand’s Ryan Fox.

Fraser has played this event each of the past 12 seasons and had a best finish of T4 in 2011 though has missed the cut in two of his last three appearances.

However, he brings some confidence from his play in Sicily last week and a good week with the putter could see him in the mix come Sunday.

Australia’s top earner on the European Tour this season is Sam Brazel who makes his debut appearance at Wentworth.

The laconic Lismore local has proved a quick study in his rookie year in Europe with just one missed cut since his maiden victory at the 2016 Hong Kong Open.

At his last outing Brazel paired with Scott Hend to make the final of the Golf Sixes event and will be pleased with his from heading to this week’s event.

Of the rest none boast a particularly good record in the event with Brett Rumford amassing six missed cuts in 13 tries and only one top-10, that back in 2006.

Jason Scrivener plays Wentworth for the second time though he was struck down by illness the week of the tournament in 2016 and his rounds of 84-76 may not be a fair reflection of his chances.

The West Australian has been in decent form in 2017 and his play in Sicily last week, particularly an even par 71 on a brutally difficult Saturday, suggests his game is in good shape.