Queensland’s Brad Kennedy has the chance to join an exclusive club this week when he tees up at the Japan Tour’s equivalent of the Tour Championship, the Golf Nippon Series JT Cup.

The 40-year-old would become just the third Australian to win the prestigious title if he can emerge victorious at the Tokyo Yomiuri Country Club on Sunday.

Brendan Jones and Paul Sheehan, two of Australia’s most successful Japan Tour players, are the only two Australians to have won the title, Jones in 2007 and Sheehan in 2004.

The Golf Nippon Series event is reserved for the top-30 money winners on the Japan Tour and a solid year has seen Kennedy finish the season in 27th place on the money list.

Three consecutive top-10’s in three of the Tour’s biggest events late in the season catapulted Kennedy up the list and he has maintained his place since.

A T6 at the Japan Open in October was followed by T10 at the Bridgestone Open a week later and an outright 5th finish at the Heiwa PGM Championship a fortnight after that.

He has since finished T30 at the Taiyeiyo Masters, T11 at the Dunlop Phoenix and T22 at the Casio World Open, all events featuring strong fields and big purses.

This marks the third consecutive year Kennedy has qualified for the event after finishing T14 in 2012 and T25 last year.