Japan's Hiroshi Iwata has added a touch of class to an already strong field for next week's BMW New Zealand Open in Queenstown.
The BMW New Zealand Open will now have the highest world-ranking player in its field since 2006.
Iwata returns after also playing the event last year, but his stocks have improved markedly since he was here 12 months ago.
The 34-year-old finished the year at number 67 in the world rankings, whereas he was down at number 466 on the list when he arrived on our shores in March 2014.
The meteoric rise comes after a sensational season on the Japan Tour. He picked up his maiden victory at the Fujisankei Classic and added another nine top ten finishes, including runner-up three times. He is now ranked #4 in Japan, adding significantly to the strength of the Japanese contingent participating in this year's event.
His standout result of the year came at the star studded HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai. Iwata was just a shot off the lead with one round to play and went on to finish T3, leaving the likes of Martin Kaymer, Adam Scott, Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia and Jordan Spieth trailing in his wake, only being beaten by another amazing Bubba Watson finish.
Iwata has his eye on making the step up to the US PGA Tour in the near future, having already secured an invite to the Sony Open earlier this year.
He's also hoping to play in this week's event in Puerto Rico, but is adamant that won't prevent him making the trip to play the BMW New Zealand Open.
"I'm very excited about the prospect of how good I can play on the beautiful courses in Queenstown," he said.
"I feel refreshed by the nature, fresh air and beautiful scenery."
Iwata's inclusion further strengthens what is an impressive line-up, including two former top 100 players in Marcus Fraser and Brendan Jones.
The two Australians have knocked on the door of the top 50 in the world in the last couple of years, but both have been undone by injury.
Fraser had surgery on a career threatening hand injury in early 2014, ruling him out of tournament play for more than six months. However, he is fully fit again and showed he is back to his best when finishing in a share of second place at the prestigious Thailand Championship in December, and third in last week's Indian Open.
Likewise, Jones is on the way up, after a lengthy spell on the sidelines. The Japan Tour veteran has twice had surgery on a wrist problem, missing all but one event between September 2013 and June last year as a result. However, he still managed to finish in the top 40 on the 2014 money list, despite his truncated schedule.
Iwata, Fraser and Jones will all have designs on winning the BMW New Zealand Open title next week, but there are any number of other players also capable of claiming the spoils.
New Zealand is well represented as far as title contenders are concerned, with Ryan Fox, Michael Hendry, David Smail, Mark Brown and Josh Geary amongst those in the mix
Several other Australians will also have their eye on the title, including Cameron Smith, Adam Bland, Brad Kennedy, Jake Higginbottom and Scott Strange while a strong Japan Tour contingent comprising the likes of Toshinori Muto, Yusaku Miyazato, Toru Taniguchi and Yoshitaka Takeya make it a hard task to predict a winner.
The BMW New Zealand Open will be played at The Hills and Millbrook Resort from March 12-15, 2015.
