Golf: Hendry eyes a rise to his best form at NZ Open

Michael Hendry.

Michael Hendry has the bank account sorted, now it's time to win more golf tournaments.

Playing well on the Japan Golf Tour and the PGA Tour of Australasia for the past two years has brought Hendry financial rewards but the back end of last year was spent yearning for more time at home rather than walking the fairways.

His wife, Tara, gave birth to their first daughter in September and despite wanting to look after his young family, Hendry had to leave shortly after Madison was born to play another tournament.

On the Japan Tour, players need to start a minimum of 16 events to help retain their tour card. So despite having made enough money by August to hold on to his playing rights for this year, Hendry had to keep attending tournaments to make up the numbers.

The ensuing results mirrored his enthusiasm as he missed a handful of cuts and only once finished inside the top 40 during his final six events of the year as he took his earnings to about $230,000.

He rounded out 2014 with a fourth-place finish at the Australian PGA Championship on the Gold Coast in December as he went past the $80,000 mark on the Australasian circuit. Hendry attributed this result to seeing more of his family before the tournament.

"It's not really a money thing anymore," the world No360 said. "It's more about trying to achieve what I want to achieve in terms of the world stuff, which is always what I wanted to do.

The 35-year-old, who has played only two rounds since the tournament on the Gold Coast, will make his return to the greens when he lines up in the Whitford Park Golf Club Pro Am in Auckland this weekend.

It's a low-key way to begin his 2015 campaign but Hendry, who has been ranked inside the world's top 150 previously, wants to be at his best when the New Zealand Open rolls around in mid-March.

He will also look to defend his New Zealand PGA Championship crown at the Remuera Golf Club the week before. The PGA event wasn't contested last year but Hendry won the two previous instalments.

After the New Zealand Open, Hendry will return to Japan as their season gets underway in April. The North Shore professional finished 51st on the money list last year.