Some of Japan's best players will be at the New Zealand Open in Queenstown in March.
More than 20 Japanese and South Korean players from the Japan Tour have confirmed they will play in the tournament at Millbrook Resort and The Hills from March 9-12.
With the lucrative Japan Tour not starting until April, the best from that tour are increasingly looking to New Zealand for tournament play.
Among the Japanese contingent confirmed for Queenstown are leading players Yusaku Miyazato, Shunsuke Sonoda, Toshinori Muto, Yoshi Fujimoto, Daisuke Kataoka and Ryutaro Nagano.
The sextet has secured 16 wins among them on the Japan Tour, and combined career earnings of about $NZ26million.
Their average age is just 31 years, so they are just finding their best form in the game.
Sonoda and Fujimoto finished in the top five last year and look likely to contend again at the New Zealand Open.
Leading the way is Miyazato (36), who has three wins to his credit and more than $NZ7million in earnings. He was second on the Japan Order of Merit in 2015 and fought back well last year after a slow start.
Muto (36) has six career wins to his credit and six top-10s in 2016, including runner-up in the Japan PGA Championship, and total earnings approaching $NZ7million.
The excitement machine is Kataoka (28), who defied his 67kg frame with some big performances in 2016, led by victory in the Top Cup Tokai Classic and runner-up efforts in the Fujisankei Classic and The Crowns among his nine top-10 finishes for the year.
His performances pushed him to sixth on the Japan Order of Merit. Muto was 13th and Fujimoto 15th. Kataoka had seven top-10s, including four in a row.
Former PGA Champion YE Yang has already been announced as an entrant in the tournament.
