Two-time
champion Scott Hend has announced his intention to return to Macao and defend
his Venetian Macao Open title at the picturesque Macau Golf & Country Club.

To
be staged from 13-16 October,
the lucrative event will see its total prize fund reach an all-time high of
US$1.1 million, a fourth consecutive year-on-year increase.

Last
year, Hend held off the challenge of his great Asian Tour rival Anirban Lahiri
as well as Chiragh Kumar to claim a three-stroke win, becoming only the second
player after Chinese great Zhang Lian-wei to win the tournament twice (2013
& 2015).

Fresh
from a second Asian Tour win of the year following his triumph at the Queen’s
Cup in Thailand over the weekend, the married father-of-two also clinched the
True Thailand Classic presented by Chang earlier in the season and bagged three
other top-10s.

Speaking
about his return to the Venetian Macao Open, the 42-year-old Australian
commented:

"The
Venetian Macao Open is one of my favourite stops on the Asian Tour and a
tournament that I always seem to play my best. The field there is always tough
and I am stoked to have come away with two victories and one runner-up finish
over the last three years."

"The course itself won’t be any different, but I
know the players around me will keep getting better, so I too will need to
raise my game to make sure I am ready to defend my title. Hopefully I can
emulate Zhang Lian-wei and defend a Venetian Macao Open title."