After a promising start to the season, Won Joon Lee has had a hard time in Japan in 2016 but will be eager to get underway at this week’s ABC Championship following a runner-up finish last year.

Lee has just one top-10 in 18 starts this year and missed seven cuts, including last week’s Bridgestone Open.

But the long hitting Sydneysider returns to a course with a lot of good memories this week, a 72nd hole eagle at the ABC Golf Club’s par-5 last lifting him to joint second in 2015.
 
Lee fired rounds of 70-69-66-69 last year and a repeat of that form this week would be welcome as the final run of big time event plays out in Japan.
 
The 18th was a particularly fruitful hole for Lee in last year’s tournament with three eagles and a birdie over the four days.
 
The limited field event has attracted just three Australians with Matt Griffin and Kurt Barnes also teeing up.
 
Griffin missed the cut in his only previous appearance last year but played some good though inconsistent golf last week at the Bridgestone tournament in finishing T33.
 
Barnes is in desperate need of a good result after struggling for much of the year.
 
He made just his sixth cut in 14 starts at last week’s Bridgestone Open but after a decent start slipped down the leaderboard with weekend rounds of 71-73.
 
Barnes is outside the top-90 on the money list as of this week but with two top-20 finishes at this event previously will give him some confidence to the first tee Thursday.