In-form Lee back in title chase at Kansai Open Golf Championship

American Han Lee will be looking to carry on with his fine start to his new JGTO season as he resumes hunting for his long-awaited second Tour title at the Kansai Open Golf Championship, which begins in Osaka Thursday.

The 45-year-old arrives at the Izumigaoka Country Club on the back of finishing in a tie for third at the season-opening Token Homemate Cup a fortnight ago, just three shots back of eventual winner Shugo Imahira.

A veteran on Tour since 2008, Lee claimed his breakthrough victory at the 2012 Mynavi ABC Championship but it turned out to be his sole success to date.

However, Lee proved that he still has the game to contend following a solid display in Nagoya and he will be eager to mount a strong challenge for the second tournament running.

Lee will also want to keep his good record going at the Kansai Open, after finishing a creditable solo third in last year's edition then held at the Yomiuri Country Club in Hyogo.

Sharing the common goal this week will be fellow seasoned campaigner Brad Kennedy of Australia, who's set for his first start in the new season.

Like Lee, the 48-year-old Kennedy, too, is seeking to return to winning ways after a lengthy drought dating back to 2018 when he won the 2018 Shigeo Nagashima Invitational SEGA SAMMY Cup for his fourth JGTO title.

He also won the Kansai Open in 2013.

Known for being one of the most consistent players on Tour, Kennedy was the second-best performing international player after coming in 16th in the JGTO Money Rankings.

Boasting at least one top-three result for each season from 2011 to 2022, Kennedy knows it's only a matter of time before he would be back as a winner again as long as he keeps knocking on the door.

Last year, he came close again by finishing outright third at the Gateway to The Open Mizuno Open.

A host of other international players teeing off this week, including former Japan Open champion Shaun Norris of South Africa, 15-time JGTO winner Brendan Jones of Australia and American Todd Baek, will aim to capitalise on the absence of several top contenders.

Some of the notable names missing are prize money king and defending champion king Kazuki Higa, who competed at The Masters last week, and Rikuya Hoshino, the 2021 winner and last year's runner-up.

But that doesn't make the tournament's 88th edition any less stellar with 2017 winner Imahira headlining the 150-man field alongside former champions Ryo Ishikawa (2008) and Tomoharu Otsuki (2019), top young guns Taiga Semikawa and Keita Nakajima and serial winner Yuta Ikeda.

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