Marcus Fraser will take plenty of positives from his return to tournament golf at the Hong Kong Open in what was a hugely successful week for Australian players on the European Tour.

Fraser teed up competitively for the first time since February at the co-sanctioned event and surprised everyone, himself included, when he led going into the final round.

While a double bogey at the opening hole Sunday proved too much to overcome the news for Australian fans was all good with Scott Hend securing victory, and a European Tour card at the age of 41, and Cameron Smith finishing in the top 10 in his first European Tour appearance.

It was a disciplined performance for the big hitting Hend, one of the most traveled Professionals in the game, who admitted early in the week the short, narrow fairways at Fanling weren’t ideally suited to his game.

"You can’t overpower this golf course," he said. "You have to take your ticket and wait for your number to come round on this course.

"You have to really position the ball well off the tees and then hope you read the grain on the green well to make your birdies.

"If you fall behind your game plan round here then try to change mid round it just destroys you. You have to be patient."

Hend heeded his own words and eventually prevailed in a play-off over Angelo Que from the Phillipines with a par on the first extra hole.

It was also a good week for Smith who has been knocking on the door on the Asian Tour all year and held his nerve in his biggest event to date to finish in the top 10.

The second year Professional was in the mix all week and vaulted into contention with a second round 65bettered by only one player on the day.

Having struggled to maintain momentum after several good starts this year Smith was solid over the weekend, rounds of 69-70 giving him plenty of confidence heading into the Australian summer.

The co-sanctioning arrangement with the Asian Tour this week meant several Australians who don’t normally play the European Tour gained starts in the field and Adam Groom(T15) and Marcus Both (T32) made the most of the opportunity by making the cut.

European Tour regular Wade Ormsby (T42) was the only other Australian to play the weekend with Jake Higginbottom, Kieran Pratt, Matt Steiger, Brett Rumford, Sam Brazel, Dimi Papadatos, Andrew Dodt and Matt Griffin all missing the cut.