Michael
Hendry has maintained his position as the leading Australasian money winner on
the Japan Tour after taking top honours at the co-sanctioned Asia Pacific
Diamond Cup.

Hendry was
the only one of the 13 strong Australasian contingent to finish under par at
the Ibaraki Country Club, his 1-under total good for T18.

Hendry has
been locked in a tense battle with Queensland’s Brad Kennedy for bragging
rights as leading money earner, Hendry currently sitting fifth and Kennedy
eighth after both have produced stellar seasons.

Kennedy was
off the pace this week on a course that saw a lot of high scoring, his 1-over
total seeing him to a share of 29^th.

Co-sanctioned
with the Asian Tour, the Asia Pacific Diamond Cup boasted a strong Australasian
flavour with six Asian Tour regulars taking their place in the field.

Terry
Pilkadaris (T44), Scott Barr (T54) and Kalem Richardson (T60) were the only
three to survive the 36-hole cut which came at 3-over, an indication of the
difficulty of the golf course.

Missing the
weekend’s play were Unho Park, Adam Groom and Sam Brazel. Among the Japan Tour
regulars in the field only Won Joon Lee and last week’s winner Brendan Jones
failed to qualify for the weekend.

Hendry and
Kennedy were the standouts in the results with Scott Strange (T60), Matt
Griffin (T69) and Adam Bland (71^st) making little impact over the
final 36 holes.