Canberra golfer Brendan Jones has set a massive record in Japan as the first foreign player to bank ¥1 billion in career earnings, but he will miss Australia's major tournaments to finish his season on a high.
Jones is back in the capital for a brief break before resuming his Japanese playing commitments for the last four tournaments of the year.
Canberra golfer Brendan Jones is hoping to finish his Japan season on a high over the next month.Credit:Dion Georgopoulos
He finished in a tie for sixth at the ABC Championship in Hyogo last week, pushing his career earnings to ¥1,002,554,591 ($A12.5 million) almost 20 years after turning professional.
The 43-year-old is 13th on the all-time Japan Golf Tour career money list and has carved out an impressive career overseas, which he hopes will yield more strong results this year when he returns at the end of the week.
But his Japan playing deal means he will miss the Australian Open and Australian PGA events this month.
"It's part of what playing on the Japanese Tour is about. That is my tour, I'm contracted to play a certain amount of tournaments so unfortunately that means I'll miss the ones in Australia," Jones said.
"The last two months of the season in Japan are the big events, so I'm looking forward to those."
Canberra duo Matt Millar and Josh Armstrong will take another step in their Australian seasons on Thursday when they tee off at the Queensland Open in Brisbane.
Millar has put all of his focus on the Australian campaign rather than trying to qualify for tours in Asia or Europe and he hopes narrowing his targets will help him secure top results.
Armstrong, who was born in the same year Jones started his career in 1999, is one of the rising stars of Australian golf and will use the Queensland Open to edge closer to an Australian Open berth.
The 19-year-old amateur finished in a tie for 16th at the Western Australia Open last week to kickstart a three-week run of professional events, which is also set to include the NSW Open.
Millar also found some good form in Perth, finishing third and just two shots behind eventual winner Zach Murray.
"I feel like I'm playing quite well, so hopefully a couple of good finishes coming up and I'd dearly love to win one," Millar said.
"I gave it a bit of a shake [in Perth], but just didn't putt well. That put me just a bit too far behind, but I gave it all I had."
Millar has spent part of the year playing in Europe, moving between Sweden, the Czech Republic and Denmark before returning for Australian Pro-Ams and the bigger events.
"I struggled a bit this year being away from family. So I don't have any plans to go [back to Europe] … I'll put things on hold internationally for a year or so," Millar said.
"When you're trying to concentrate on two tours, I'm not sure it was a good thing for me. No excuses, it's just more about the way I feel and where my focus was.
"So Europe is on hold, I had hoped to play in Asia but that won't work and I missed the cut-off for Japan. But if I play well in Australia, there's enough money there and you get time at home with the family, as well."
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