A 21-strong line-up of Japanese tour players is heading to Queenstown for the New Zealand Open in March.
The players include seven from the top 30 money list on the Japanese tour.
The New Zealand Open and the Japanese Tour began a partnership last year which attracted 15 Japanese players to the Open.
New Zealand Open tournament director Michael Glading was excited about the group of players set to challenge for this year's title.
''There are many world-class players coming from the Japan Tour, and we're expecting many of them to be in the hunt when the tournament heads into the final day on Sunday,'' he said.
''The relationship with the Japan Tour is a huge boost to our tournament both competitively and commercially, and we're thrilled that such a high-quality group has taken up the opportunity to play this year.''
Leading the Japanese challenge is Yusaku Miyazato, who picked up seven top-10 finishes this season, including victory at the Token Homemate Cup in April.
Another player to keep an eye on is Yoshitaka Takeya.
The 34-year-old proved to be a star turn in his rookie season on the tour last year, winning the Japan Tour Championship in June and going on to finish 10th on the money list.
Their presence at the tournament has led to a golf television network from Japan deciding to send a crew to New Zealand to broadcast live coverage of the event to nearly eight million homes in Japan.
The New Zealand Open will be played at The Hills and Millbrook Resort from March 12-15.
