Mike Hendry finishes 3rd in Japan
Mike Hendry – file image courtesy of Australian Golf Media
The Japan Golf Tour played its penultimate event of the season, the Casio World Open, over the weekend, and for New Zealander Mike Hendry, it continued what has been a remarkable comeback from a life-threatening illness more than eighteen months ago.
Hendry shared the lead into the final round at the Kochi Kuroshiro Country Club on the island of Shikoku but eventually finished two shots behind the winner Hiroshi Iwata, who won his 7th Japan Tour title.
Hendry, who was diagnosed with leukemia in May of 2023, underwent extensive treatment before returning to competitive golf in September of that year and won the first event in which he played when returning, albeit a minor event in New Zealand.
The 45-year-old’s return to the Japan Tour in 2024 has seen him re-establish himself on the tour he has chosen to play for the past 12 years or so. He won an event in May (his second victory on the Japan Tour), although his play in recent weeks until this weekend has seen him miss five of his last six cuts.
This weekend, therefore, was a welcome return to form ahead of next week’s season-ending Golf Nippon Series event in Tokyo.
Hendry is now 26th on the Japan Golf Tour money list for the season.
