It’s been a quiet year for South Australian Adam Bland but look for the left-hander to produce some good play this week when the Bridgestone Open returns to the Sodegaura Country Club.

The layout has been a favourite of Bland since he joined the Japan Tour in 2014 with a T6 finish on debut and a runner-up result last year.

Bland has struggled to produce his best golf this year and while he has missed just four cuts in 15 starts he also has just one top-10 to his name, a T3 back in June.

A series of mid-field finishes suggest Bland is on the verge of a good result and returning to a course where he has played so well previously may be just the tonic required to turn things around.

There are eight Australasians in the field this week in a tournament the players will find a welcome relief after a brutally difficult test at the Japan Open last week.

Michael Hendry and Brad Kennedy will resume their battle for top Australasian on the money list after Kennedy made some inroads last week.

Hendry missed the cut at the Japan Open while the Queenslander was T12 though they remain in sixth (Hendry) and 10th (Kennedy) places on the standings.

Kennedy has the better record of the two at this event, his best result a T10 in 2014 while Hendry has missed the cut three of the four times he has played the tournament.

Also in the field this week are Matt Griffin, Won Joon Lee, Kurt Barnes, Brendan Jones and last week’s top Australian Scott Strange.