Following on from his best result of the Japan Tour season Matt Griffin will take some confidence into the Top Cup Tokai Classic in Aichi this week.

Griffin’s good play at the Asia Pacific Diamond Cup saw him share the lead with five holes to play and while an eventual T7 finish was somewhat disappointing, it does suggest his game is in good shape.

Griffin played well at this event last year for a T23 finish, a second round 67 seeing him enter the weekend inside the top five.

That experience combined with his current confidence could well see him contend this year as he leads a group of four Australians playing the tournament.

Brendan Jones, Kurt Barnes and David Bransdon are also in the field, Barnes looking to break a run of missed cuts while Bransdon looks to climb inside the top 60 on the money list.

The veteran Victorian is currently 74^th with the top 60 retaining full playing rights and those below enjoying various categories of limited status for the following season.

With nine events left there is ample opportunity to climb the standings and Bransdon has shown a liking for the game in Japan in his first full season.

He has missed just two cuts in nine events and will be motivated this week as the second of those came at his last start two weeks ago at the ANA Open.

Brendan Jones, too, has missed two cuts this season though has played three more events than his Victorian counterpart.

His form in recent weeks has been decent with mid-field results at each of his last two starts though he will be looking for improvement this week.

A veteran of the Japan circuit, Jones’ best finish at this event came when T4 in 2010.