Scott Strange will be keen to build on his career best Japan Tour finish last week when he is one of 13 Australasians to tee up at the Japan Tour Championship this week.

Strange’s runner-up result at the Gateway
to the Open Mizuno Open last week earned him a spot in the 2015 Open field at
St Andrews but he will still be stinging about not getting across the line for
a maiden win.

Already this year Adam Bland and Michael
Hendry have posted their first wins and Strange will be keen to join the club
at a tournament where he performed well last year.

A final round 73 at the Shishido Hills
course dropped Strange from T15 to T21 in 2014 but on current form he will like
his chances of a better result this week.

A strong Australasian contingent will be at
the course in Ibaraki this week with the added incentive of becoming the first
Australasian to win the event since its inception in 2000.

Brad Kennedy, Brendan Jones, David Smail,
Matt Griffin, Adam Bland, Michael Hendry, Matt Guyatt, Won Joon Lee, Peter
Wilson, Steve Conran, Kurt Barnes and Jordan Zunic all take their place in the
field.

Bland, who has a slim lead in the money
list from New Zealand’s Michael Hendry, missed the cut last week but will be
keen to maintain his position ahead of Hendry and will be looking for some
better play this week

For his part Hendry was brilliant in the
opening round last week but couldn’t maintain momentum and while a mid-field
finish closed the money list gap on Bland he will be wanting better this week.

Brad Kennedy has been a solid performer this
year making the cut in all five events he has teed up in but was disappointing
at last week’s Mizuno Open, a tournament he has previously won and also posted
other high finishes.

Several rookies are also on show with Peter
Wilson, Matt Griffin, New Zealand Open champion Jordan Zunic and Won Joon Lee
all getting starts.

Won Joon Lee has built an impressive resume
in his short time in Japan with two top-10’s in his three starts to date,

He was T6 last week and T3 a fortnight ago
and with momentum on his side another good showing this week seems likely.

Matt Griffin is yet to find his feet after
surviving the Japan Tour Q-School last year and missed his second cut in three
starts last week though that’s not a fair reflection of his ability.