Kurt Barnes will be
looking to build on a brilliant weekend at last week’s Dunlop Phoenix tournament
when he tees up in the Japan Tour’s Casio World Open this week.

Barnes went a long way
to overcoming what has been a disappointing season with a third place finish at
the Dunlop Phoenix tournament and having now climbed to 50^th on the Order
of Merit will be in position to freewheel this week.

Barnes has only played
the Casio tournament three times in his five-year Japan Tour career and boasts
a best finish of T22.

But rejuvenated after
his sterling finish last week, he could be one to watch among the seven
Australians in this week’s field.

Joining Barnes at the Kochi Kuroshio
Country Club are Brendan Jones, Matt Griffin, Adam Bland, Won Joon Lee, Brad
Kennedy and Scott Strange.

All are aiming to become the first
Australian to win the title though New Zealand’s David Smail is a two-time
former Champion.

Brendan Jones has performed well in the
event at times also, a T2 in 2003 and T6 last year; his two best results though
he was inconsistent last week at the Dunlop Phoenix event.

Queensland’s Brad Kennedy got back on track
with a seventh top-10 for the season last week and with a previous best finish
of T9 at this course will arrive with some confidence Thursday.

Matt Griffin returns to Japan off a solid
showing at the Emirates Australian Open, as he looks to secure the ISPS HANDA
PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit, where rounds of 72-71-71-70 saw him finish
T28 and with his game in good shape.For
Scott Strange, a missed cut last week will be a motivator as he tries to make
up for failing to qualify for the weekend in his only other appearance here.